STIR Publication - mondo*arc india issue#06 Jan/Feb2016

FRONT COVER tHE 'LIGHT'NESS OF SKIN Abstracted geometries derived from architectural references in the magazine.

The skin is a continuous sheath that forms a barrier between the inside and outside, a protective layer between the conditioned and unconditioned, a shroud that veils the unknown from the known.

The skin defines thresholds and transitions between spaces. The skin becomes a datum against which an experience is measured; it can be a jacket of textures or a curtain of translucence.

Embracing a built form, the skin gets abstracted into myriad geometries; layered to create environments that are stimulating and exhilarating.

The designer begins to choreograph the interaction of a spectator with the building and the covering that wraps around it.

The distinct geometries presented in this case are derived from four separate architectural instances,

each distinct in its approach and interface with light. While one encourages a precise interplay of light and shadow, another capers with tiers of transparency, the third paints patterns on a blank canvas, and the fourth triangulates daylight into the space.

Cavorting with natural light in some, and intended illumination in others, the geometries create exclusive environments of conscious experiences.

Look out for the four projects that have been abstracted through The 'Light'ness of Skin.

Metropol Parasol, Juergen Mayer H.; Bad Café, Nuru Karim; Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, Iluminate Lighting Design; Maggie’s Centre, Speirs + Major.

ABOVE US ONLY sky SPEIRS + MAJOR + REIACH AND HALL (R+H) MAGGIE’S CENTRE

EVOKED BY LIGHT

OCULUS LIGHT STUDIO + KONING EIZENBERG ARCHITECtS AKA HOTEL, BEVERLY HILLS

THE ENTICING LAIR

DPA LIGHTING CONSULTANTS LONDON + ANDY FISHER WORKSHOP EMBASSY BOULEVARD

PUZZLING GEOMETRIES

ILLUMINATE LIGHTING DESIGN + HIRSCH BEDNAR ASSOCIATES LEELA AMBIENCE CONVENTION HOTEL

STRIATED ABSTRACTIONS SANJAY PURI ARCHITECTS AURIGA RESTAURANT

BO STEIBER, BSLD • SONALI RASTOGI, MORPHOGENESIS • BE LIT • NU.DE OFFICES • SHROFFLEÓN • IYL JUERGEN MAYER H • ARTURO ALVAREZ • HIND RABII • CHIARA CARUCCI • KAPIL SURLAKAR • HARSH CHITALE

experience what you don’t see

LIGHT a tool for spatial articulation and the creation of perceptual dimensions

perceive

articulate

inspire

Call us for end to end lighting solutions and a curated Lighting Tour at our experience centres in Delhi and Mumbai Tour Timings: 6 pm to 9 pm (except Sundays). T Delhi: +91 11 26809378/79 T Mumbai: +91 22 26612501/02 E info@visavislights.com W www.visavisindia.com

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CONTENTS

[jan/feb]

034 Folio

details 010 Editorial Comment Editor’s Note.

012 Contributors Professionals that contributed to the issue.

014 Eye Opener Lucent by Wolfgang Buttress, Chicago, USA 016 Focal Point Spine Tingling, Wild Fire.

020 Drawing Board Our preview of proposed projects.

024 Spotlight A selection of brand new projects from around the world.

030 Briefing We talk to Sakchin Bessette of Moment Factory about what makes them tick.

032 Snapshot Introducing Be Lit Co. Ltd. 034 Folio NU.DE Offices.

038 Lighting Talk In conversation with Sonali Rastogi of Morphogenesis.

044 Interview Bo Steiber reminisces about his journey through light and shares some recent works.

FEATURE STORY 050 Celebrating Light Light, the invisible-visible.

052 We are Light!

The International Year of Light 2015.

054 Kapil Surlakar 2015, the year gone by.

056 Harsh Chitale 2015, the year gone by.

044

PROJECTS 058 Sonnenhof, Germany Challenged by J MAYER.H’s angular design, lichttransfer’s bespoke lighting scheme celebrates contemporary architecture.

062 Embassy Boulevard, Bangalore Andy Fisher Workshop and dpa lighting consultants London create a set of alluring show villas.

066 The Noodle Rack, Changsha Lukstudio translates the traditional noodle into spatial design.

070 Auriga, Mumbai Sanjay Puri Architects design a stunning striated sculptural form, bathed in a motley composition of dynamic light.

074 Maggie’s Centre, UK Carrie Donahue Bremner of Speirs + Major, talks about the dynamism of daylight and its impact on space and environment.

078 AKA Hotel, Beverly Hills, California Oculus Light Studio uses light to enhance visual perception and spatial experience of the newly retrofitted luxury hotel.

084 Solo Sokos Hotel, Finland Having won this year’s Finnish Lighting Award, Valao’s façade lighting shines bright.

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[jan/feb] 070 Auriga, Mumbai

PROJECTS 088 Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, Delhi Illuminate Lighting Design plays with the geometries of the façade and gentle ambience of the hotel interiors.

092 Orange Extension, Mumbai SHROFFLEóN combines prevalent site geometries with an intriguing material palette to create an unusual residential extension.

096 Paris-gare De L’est Hotel, Paris Design duo Zsofia Varnagy and Axel Schoenert embrace the spring sprite.

100 Poissonnerie Némeau, Montreal The team at Jean De Lessard takes a fresh perspective on a traditional fish market.

102 Mindtree NOCs, Bangalore and Hyderabad Oculus Light Studio and Lighting Research and Design talk dynamic lighting that reflects daylight.

108 The Beacon Installation, Pittsburg The grand enterprise by ESI Design projects real-time data, using light, colour and sound.

In Issue #05, the focal point featuring Special No. 127 by Pae White (pg. 018) mistakenly misspelt the name of the host gallery. We clarify that the work was installed at the neugerriemschneider gallery in Berlin.

We apologize for the error.

ART & DESIGN 112 SLL Night of Heritage Light SLL illuminates UK’s most iconic locations.

116 PLD-C 2015 A snapshot of PLD-C 2015, Rome, Itlay.

122 Lights in Alingsås Lights in Alingsås, the annual workshop and festival.

126 To See The Sound Russia’s National Centre for Contemporary Arts uses light to study sound in contemporary art.

128 Many Hands Make Light Words A collaboration between Light Collective and Photo Activate.

130 MyCup A light installation that educates and inspires employees to recycle at work.

132 Between Technology and Sensuality Hind Rabii 134 Focusing on Functionality and Beauty Arturo Álvarez 138 The India Story 140 Block.Buster 142 Fibre Fables 144 IALD India Light Workshops Introducing IALD India Light Workshops.

TECHNOLOGY 146 Case Studies A selection of innovative lighting projects from Tom Dixon (p146), SGM (p148), Erco (p150), ETC Light (p152), Precision Lighting (p153).

154 IALD Enlighten Americas Is TM-30-15 the method that will supplant CRI? 156 Comment David Morgan reviews Lumino’s ColourCORE LED technology.

158 Bench Test 2015 Turns up the Volume, Geoff Archenhold.

164 Pick of the Litter A selection of decorative lighting products that fascinated us this year.

170 Event Calendar Your global show and conference guide.

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* The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, viewpoints or official policies of mondo*arc india.

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[editorial] Ushering in the New Year, we look ahead in anticipation of great times to come. We also stand in reflection of time that has passed. 2015 has been a milestone year for light and lighting across the world. Declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL 2015), it became a springboard for many initiatives, programs and projects.

Our very own organization, STIR (See. Think. Inspire. Reflect) was inspirited to launch mondo*arc india, the first design magazine in the country with a special focus on light and lighting. The year was also witness to the formation of the Indian Chapter of the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD). Having successfully hosted the IALD Chase the Dark event, mondo*arc india once again joins hands with the IALD India Chapter to curate and conduct a series of lighting workshops to be held across the country in 2016; building awareness of the lighting profession and opening avenues to young students of design.

With the industry gaining much momentum, and the lighting design profession claiming considerable recognition, there has been a deluge of projects that saw distinct application of astute intended light in India and abroad.

We showcase a peculiar assemblage of works that experiment with the ‘Light’ness of Skin, wherein light becomes an element of playful interaction with the building envelope, directing, deviating and transgressing the experience of the conditioned and unconditioned environments. Case studies such as Maggie’s Centre, Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, Auriga Restaurant and BAD Café are exemplary of this phenomenon, illustrating that light traverses beyond the functional aspect of its physicality to blanket the spatial experience in an emotive semblance.

While designers experimented with the built environment, others explored grounds to conceive and create innovative forms at different scales. From a plethora of ingenious design, we grab the ‘Pick of the Litter’ to collate an assemblage of decorative lighting products that caught our eye over the year.

‘The Year Gone By’ as described in the words of Chiara Carucci, Kapil Surlakar and Harsh Chitale, reflect our sentiments of 2015 as twelve dynamic months that went through a tornado of fluxes, some great, some not so wonderful, but overall a time of erudition and exploration.

In 2016, with hope in our hearts, we look towards new technology such as li-fi (Light Fidelity), an influx of smart LEDs within a larger market domain, and developing intrinsic practices that are driven by sustainable design rather than mere energy saving tools. We hope for the coming year to be inspired and inspirational.

Wishing you a mondo New Year!

Mrinalini Ghadiok

Editorial

Editor, mondo*arc india Mrinalini Ghadiok mrinalini@stir.lighting Editor, mondo*arc UK Paul James p.james@mondiale.co.uk Editorial Assistant Rahat Varma rahat@stir.lighting

Art

Art Director Vrinda Bhageria vrinda@stir.lighting Sr. Designer Kewal Singh kewal@stir.lighting

Advertising

Manisha Singh manisha@stir.lighting

Finance Dilip Shah

t: +91 11 2680 9377 / 78 / 79 e: mondoarc@stir.lighting w: www.stir.lighting

Commercial Manoj Mishra

Press

International content:

Thomson Press (India) Ltd. New Delhi

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All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproductions strictly prohibited. mondo*arc does not take responsibility for returning unsolicited publication material.

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[contributors]

WARREN JULIAN

An electrical engineer and scientist by education, Julian has more than 14 years of pedagogic experience.

His academic interests are all matters concerning light and lighting in Australia, the region and internationally; while his research interest is how people respond to the lit environment. He has undertaken major studies in the gloom effect, discomfort glare and lighting for the partially sighted.

In this issue: Prof. Julian reminisces about his former student; friend, and now colleague, Bo-Steiber.

Brendan Keely Keely was an Associate Lighting Designer at BDP and Head of the Lighting Team in their Manchester studio, and is now the Secretary of the Society of Light and Lighting.

He is involved in all aspects of the Society including: membership, policy, events, promotion as well as technical guidance covering all sectors and light applications.

The Society has its highest ever membership with over 3200 members in 44 countries as well as 28 supporting organizations.

Keely has spoken at 2 Professional Lighting Design Conferences, in Madrid and Copenhagen, and was one of the Student Speaker Coaches for the Professional Lighting Design Conference in Rome, October 2015.

In this issue: Keely shares with us his experience of mentoring the winning team of ‘The Challenge’ at PLD-C 2015, Rome.

KAPIL B. SINAI SURLAKAR Founding Director of LIGHT@ WORK Design Consultants Pvt. Ltd., Surlakar is a trained architect and lighting designer. He has presented many papers on architectural lighting design at various international forums such as Light+Building, Frankfurt; IALD Enlighten Europe, Berlin; Nordic Lighting Seminars, Drammen, Norway to name a few.

Surlakar is also very involved with the international architectural lighting fraternity and works towards educating and spreading the word on good lighting practices in India. As a founding member he established ‘Lights in Goa’, a biannual conference on lighting design.

In this issue: Surlakar shares his views on the year gone by, 2015 as the International Year of Light.

CHIARA CARUCCI Carucci is a lighting designer at ÅF Lighting in Stockholm, Sweden. She holds a Master’s Degree from the Politecnico di Milano, and has been working with cultural heritage and lighting master plans since 2004. She is an active campaigner for raising awareness about the profession and also writes for lighting magazines and blogs. Carucci also co-founded the professional network Italian Lighting Designers and L-RO (Lighting-Related Organizations). L-RO, was established in 2014 by representatives of lighting associations, educational institutions and media. They appointed Carucci as Lead Coordinator of this voluntary federation, especially for IYL2015.

In this issue: Carucci rounds up the events of the International Year of light 2015.

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AMARDEEP M DUGAR Founding principal of Lighting Research & Design, specialising in applied research and design consultancy, Dugar is a trained architect and lighting designer. As a practitioner he brings research into client service and professional development, and is an academic who brings practical knowledge into teaching. He is now working on a book for budding architects on architectural illumination design.

In this issue: Dugar walks us through Mindtree’s new Network Operation Centers, and helps us understand the ‘office-inside-an-office’ set up.

MARTINA FRATTURA Frattura works as a lighting designer at BDP, Manchester, UK. She graduated from KTH with a Masters Degree in Architectural Lighting Design and Health in 2015.

Her dissertation was entitled ‘Instil - How to induce shared feelings through light’. She researched at the HTI department of TU/e, Eindhoven, and is currently leading an art project, ‘La Mia Paura e Bianca’.

In this issue: Frattura worked closely with Chiara Carucci to compile the article wrapping up 2015 as the International Year of Light.

POOJA SHAH Shah is an aesthetic physician in private practice and shuttles between Pune and Singapore.

A diligent yoga practitioner, she enjoys local theatre and writing.

A Kathak danseuse, she also continues to explore newer techniques in contemporary dance. With a keen eye for detail and design, she seeks out the finer pleasures of the evolving Indian culture.

In this issue: Shah gives us perspective on Vishal Dar’s famed installation, ‘Maruts’.

HARSH CHITALE Recently appointed as the CEO of Philips Lighting Solutions, South Asia, Chitale is today responsible for driving and building the lighting business in the country. Member of the Board of Directors at HCL Healthcare Ltd., and former Managing Director and CEO of HCL Infosystems Ltd., Chitale is a young business leader with experience of incubating and building businesses across geographies in India, Asia and the Americas.

In this issue: Chitale highlights the lighting trends of 2015 and talks about eradicating Light Poverty.

MYNA MUKHERJEE Mukherjee is a cultural producer, curator, and the founder / director of Engendered, a New York/ New Delhi based Transnational Arts and Human rights organization. She founded Nayikas, NY’s acclaimed first feminist Odissi Dance theatre company and was the Director of the I-View Film festival, North America’s biggest South Asian film festival on gender and sexuality for 3 years.

She has curated internationally at the Lincoln Center, Asia Society, Tribeca Film Center, Queens Museum, and with the education department head at the MOMA. In this issue: Mukherjee writes about Fiber Fables, the first of its kind collaborative exhibition between contemporary artists and carpet weavers, exploring the traditional methods of weaving.

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eye opener Lucent, Chicago, USA Lucent is a newly unveiled sculpture by UK artist Wolfgang Buttress, created as part of the lobby refurbishment of the iconic John Hancock Center, Chicago, USA. Deriving its name from the Latin Lucere, meaning ‘to shine’, this sculptural installation is based on a starmap. The piece draws on celestial mapping research by astrophysicist Dr Daniel Bayliss at the Australian National University. The sculpture has a four metre diameter hemisphere, perforated with 3,115 holes representing stars visible with the naked eye from Earth’s Northern hemisphere. Fiber-optic cables emerge from each point, emitting a glowing ambient light. Affixed to these points are hand-blown glass orbs that diffuse the light.

These points are triangulated, creating delicate stainless steel filigree. The Southern hemisphere is suggested in the ceiling reflection and a sense of infinity is implied by a double reflection set-up between the reflecting pool below and mirrored polished steel above. www.wolfgangbuttress.com

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Pic: Mark Hadden

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focal point Wildfire Luum, london Based in London, Luum is the brainchild of Chris Fox and Andrew Watson, combining years of knowledge and industry experience in the conception and delivery of inspiring lighting installations for distinctive interiors.

The 20-metre tall designjunction installation of Flame, floated up through the venue’s dramatic sevenstorey stairwell, creating an inspiring focal point that captured visitors’ imaginations. The old College building proved the perfect venue for the latest version of Flame with the mid-century architectural interior surrounding contrasting effectively with the Flame’s highly contemporary form. www.byluum.com

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Pic: Ruth Ward

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DETAILS

focal point Spine-tingling Somerset House, London Design Festival SPINE is an interactive light installation, drawing a parallel between our own physiology and the technological environment in which we live.

Electricity carries and translates human intent into action… both around us and within us. Externally, it fuels an extensive network of manmade lighting that unbinds our activity to all hours of the day.

Internally, it generates synapses through our spinal neural network that bring our thoughts into action and translates them into movement. To celebrate the launch of the 002 LED lamp, Plumen teamed up with Studio Ini to create an interactive light installation SPINE. Located on the Stamp Staircase of Somerset House as part of London Design Festival, this interactive light installation draws parallels between our own physiology and the technological environment in which we live.

Electricity is an inherent part of our anatomy as human beings. Neurons encode information with electrical signals and transmit that information through synapses across our spinal cord. The electrical signal involves a voltage change of many tens of millivolts travelling at 268 miles per hour through our neural pathways. In this way, motor neurons located in the spinal cord carry signals from the brain to the muscles to produce movement. In this interactive experience visitors are invited to discover a new way of perceiving electricity and its consumption. www.plumen.com

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[drawing board] The latest exciting works in progress from the world’s most imaginative designers.

Masking Frit

Translucent Frit

RGB LED Lights

Horizontal Louvers Interior Glazing (No Treatment)

Lighting Plane Exterior Glazing

Visual: Lighting Ergonomics (Le) & Edifice Consultants Pvt. Ltd.

The Beaming Box Lighting Ergonomics (Le) Spread over 25.27 acres, Ramanujan IT City is situated at the heart of Chennai’s Southern business district at Taramani the gateway to the city’s rapidly developing IT Corridor. Designed for Tata Realty and Infrastructure by Edifice Consultants Pvt. Ltd., the last of the four towers is strategically located at the edge of the Rajiv Gandhi IT Expressway, presenting the perfect opportunity for the architects to work with lighting consultants Lighting Ergonomics (Le) to develop a glowing beacon atop the tower, which could depict the brand’s identity to the world passing by.

Conceived as a cube that protrudes from the corner of the building, the feature is

designed as a ‘Media-box’ to carry branding expressions on the exterior façade. Having explored a plethora of materials and systems for the approximately 500 sq.mt. surface area of the box, specific optical and lighting devices have been integrated within the layers of the double-skin façade.

For the daytime, a well-crafted pattern of reflective and diffused glass fritting was developed, which would reveal a subtle monochromatic imprint of a brand message as a function of the ‘reflection’ of the sky onto the Media-box. At night, concealed LED RGB nodes within the glass enclosure allow the diffusing frits to disperse light, thus reversing the effect.

While it is imperative for the box to be an intriguing phenomenon in the day as well as night, it is as important for the inhabitants of the office space within, to be functioning in a work-conducive environment. In order to tackle extraneous glow from the office interiors that could potentially interfere with the clarity and contrast of the media image on the box façade, horizontal blinds are programed to be drawn at sun down.

Thus, providing a darkened backdrop to the box, while also allowing office staff unhindered views from behind the veil of the media façade. www.lightingergonomics.com

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Visuals: Srinivas Rao Doddi

THE FLOATING GLASS BOX DDIR Architecture Studio Assetz Stratos is a stack of contemporary residential condominiums in Bangalore designed by DDIR. The project was planned as ‘Assetz Particulier’, referring to the French nineteenth century luxurious way of living in your own ‘Hotel Particulier’.

The basic form was ideated as a centrally located column that supported the structural floor plates held together on the periphery with delicate metal cross bracing.

In Stratos, a robust column of exposed concrete forms the central core. Developed as the only primary support for the entire building, the floor plates are delicately hung with steel suspenders to prevent

lateral movement of the structure; thus, lifting the building off the ground and giving it a distinctive floating effect.

Blanketed in a continuous sheath of clear glass, there is an abundance of natural light that infiltrates the interior space from all directions. The light within each home alters through the day as the sun voyages across the sky. With the changing degrees of brightness and vividness of natural light, the living spaces evolve in character as well.

DDIR ebbs the boundaries between the outside and inside by using a glass frontage. Maintaining physical bounds, but diminishing visual barriers facilitates large vantages of lush green trees that flank the

property. Each apartment begins to feel like a private elevated deck bathed in the warmth of the sun as exterior views bleed into the space. Daylight filtering through the profuse foliage creates moments of abstract patterns of light and shade within.

At night, the transparent box lights up as a floating lantern as the interior lights are turned on.

With its seamless glass façade, Stratos attempts to look beyond the city while still existing in the heart of it. The boutique residences attempt to bridge the gap between contemporary architecture and timeless living. www.ddirarchitecture.com

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DETAILS

[drawing board]

Visuals: Courtesy of Chris Finch and CCI

LUXURY LINER dpa lighting consultants Earlier this year (2015), Crystal Cruises International (CCI) was sold to Genting Hong Kong. Having worked closely with CCI over the last twelve years, dpa lighting consultants has built a valuable relationship with the company. Since the acquisition, many exciting new ventures have been announced. dpa lighting consultants is now working closely with Alexandra Don of CCI and lead designer Chris Finch of AD Associates on a new yacht project, for which Finch and CCI provided their visuals for, illustrating the overall vessel and its luxurious spaces within.

Lighting is an important part of creating a luxurious experience for discerning Crystal guests, so it has been carefully developed and integrated into the fabric of the vessel.

The project will utilise long life, low energy LED sources in a variety of formats.

All the suites and public areas will also benefit from a computerised scene set lighting control system, allowing simple instinctive use to create different ambiances at different times of day or night, to suit the mood of guests. www.dpalighting.com

PARA.MI – ONE LUMINAIRE, MANY OPTIONS.

Round or rectangular luminaire head, simply or doubly adjustable arm, round or rectangular base or mounting option to furniture system, combined with high-quality surfaces in black, white, silver or red: PARA.MI offers you unlimited design options for the perfect adaptation to the modern office environment.

Waldmann Lighting Pvt. Ltd., Phase-VI, Sector-37, GURGAON - 122001, HARYANA, sales-in@waldmann.com, www.waldmann.com

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[spotlight] The latest projects with a wow factor from around the world.

MARUTS Vishal K Dar Unconventional. Gargantuan. Off the Grid.

Watching an entire production come together from the point when it was conceived to the night when we stood at its helm taking it all in one last time, because it wasn’t going to exist the next day, gave me a perspective and an experience that will persist as an intriguing memory.

However, it was unfathomable how this sprinkle of conversations with its multitude of doubts and the basic raw materials albeit industrial in size would culminate into this magnificence. As I stood near Vishal on the

Opening Night at the giant entrance, that framed this spectacle in front of us, I finally sensed the jitters fade away and a fantasy come into play.

Maruts, as we now know it, came to life at Dynamic Logistics in Pune at the end of October 2015. Continuing his experimentation with light, Vishal breathed life into a 40,000 sq. ft. incomplete industrial space; with 200,000 gallons of water and 9 computer-controlled lights.

The reflection of these oscillating lights, set at varying metronomic meters over

a placid reflecting pool, created an extraordinary immersive experience. A contemporary avatar showcased through the mystical dance of lights gave body to the Marutas; the storm deities as referred to in the Rig Veda.

Despite the statistics giving a sense of space, place and time, it falls short of capturing the sensibility that gently dominates the viewer. The depth of the dark glistening water juxtaposed with the fleeting movement of brilliant white light renders an etherealness that is hard to

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Pics: Sagar Shiriskar / TIFA Working Studios

grasp. The work unfolds itself and gains depth as you spend more time with it, bringing one to a meditative state. The dreamlike imagery of flexing diamonds and the reflecting moons against the backdrop of the cold steel framework add a metastructure to the already expansive space.

The transition from dusk hues to the moonlit sky provides a natural context to this otherwise orchestrated project. Finally, the walk through in the water satiates a curiosity taking away the barriers that exist between the artwork and its viewer.

The scale of Vishal’s work is unprecedented in Pune and as young patrons, Trishla and Roshan Talera of TIFA Working Studios have taken a big leap in shaping Pune’s contemporary and public art culture. Art such as this, which brings into question the ideas of physicality, ownership and private collection has trouble seeing the ‘light of day’; but given a platform, is able to engage with the larger community and create room for cultural dialogue. (written by Pooja Shah) www.vishalkdar.com

A series of nine Sharpy 230w Moving Head Beams in 7800K, are controlled through an 18 CH DMX board, each programmed with its unique time-coded loop in seconds.

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[spotlight]

peninsula in pink

Pics: Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós, SHARE, Circa 1881 and Peninsula New York

This October, The Peninsula New York hotel was pink with pride in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, through its ‘The Art of Pink’ charitable program.

In celebration, the hotel presented PINK LOTUS, a large-scale light installation sculpture by Peruvian artist, Grimanesa Amorós. The installation was on show from 1 October to 15 November and exclusively curated for The Peninsula by Circa 1881.

In keeping with the initiative’s pink theme, Amorós used LED lights to create a pink lotus flower that highlights the hotel’s landmark Beaux-Arts façade. By placing the installation on the main façade, Amorós supported Breast Cancer Awareness Month by drawing attention to the Roman Goddesses Ceres and Diana, who represent the power of women worldwide and to the lotus flower’s symbolic associations with creation, enlightenment and rebirth.

PINK LOTUS features a dramatic elevenminute light sequence that provides the public with a unique visual experience created by the LED lighting.

Amorós commented: “The first time I saw a pink lotus was in Shanghai, and I was immediately overwhelmed by its beauty, shape and movement. It is known to be a source of enlightenment, purity and abundance. It is this spiritual principle that is anchored in my work and is a determining factor for my perspective and perception of nature and landscape. My work is an ongoing investigation of the human condition such as migration, interpersonal relationships, and the roles of women in today’s society.’’ www.grimanesaamoros.com

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Pics: Jeroen Verrecht

beneath the surface 88888 (a collaboration between Karel Burssens and Jeroen Verrecht) has recently unveiled a new installation in the water surrounding the ancient castle of Horst, Belgium. As part of the Horst Arts and Music Festival, Untitled is one sculpture among more, curated by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh.

The installation is a rectangular shaped hole of 12-metres x 1.2-metres with an undisclosed depth, which borders the water surface, forming an abstract interruption in the water. The unexpected aspect of this hollow space is amplified by cutting through

the water, feeling like an unnatural, near to impossible gesture.

The pond limits the work’s accessibility, therefore its experience remains on a visual level, enforced by curiosity.

Standing on the pond’s shore, it’s hard to define the hole exactly. Its depth is unclear, as is its material and construction method.

The hole appears as a container of emptiness, of indefiniteness.

This bare, rectangular void stands opposed to the surrounding water. The pressure between them appears maximised and almost tangible. A constantly shifting

contrast appears between the rigid black of the hole and the visual play of currents, reflections and colours surrounding it. The work’s perimeter includes these elements, their serenity and force, effort and indifference.

At night, the dark hole turns into a white, bright element within a vast dark surface.

The light effect is created with six LEDstrips of 250cm, all with a waterproof protection. Seemingly invisible at the bottom of the hole, the LEDs define a certain but unclear activity within this area. www.office88888.com

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[spotlight]

Pics: Ronald Smits

lowlands lantern For this year’s Lowlands Festival, Studio Dennis Parren created Lift, a continuously changing, eighteen-metre high light sculpture that sparked the curiosity of more than 48,000 visitors during the three-day music festival in The Netherlands.

Inspired by the festival’s theme ‘Kiss Another Sky’, the studio set itself the goal to create a unique sculpture that would stand out in the energetic surroundings, a tower of light to function as a central point of orientation.

The sculpture was made out of scaffolding and fitted with 80 triangular banners,

250-metres of steel cables and over a 1,000-metres of evenly divided straps to create the shadow effects. The ‘light-robot’ inside the tower consisted of a computercontrolled LED platform that was fitted with four LEDs producing over 1,000W of bright light, moving up and down in sync with the program of light.

Studio Dennis Parren explained: “We wanted to show the audience white light in two ways, resulting in two different kinds of shadows. Being an entertaining mystery to some, and a challenging puzzle to others.’’ www.dennisparren.com

SCALED TO NEW TECHNOLOGY

KUMA 2

Scale 2:1

Visit us at

13 - 18.03.2016, Frankfurt Pavilion 3.0 Booth A81 For an invitation to an exclusive evening write to us at info@aldabra.it

www.aldabra.it Via Europa, 12 20863 - Concorezzo (MB) - Italy T +39 (0) 39 69 08 061 F +39 (0) 39 69 08 659 E aldabra@aldabra.it

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[briefing] Sakchin Bessette Having recently opened an office in London to add to their HQ in Montreal and subsidiary in LA, we speak to Moment Factory’s Creative Director Sakchin Bessette about what makes them tick...

How and why did you establish Moment Factory?

Moment Factory began because we were following amazement. In the beginning, I was VJing at nightclubs and raves and at after-hours parties… doing a lot of slideshows in the days before I had access to all the digital equipment and technology available now. One thing led to another and a core group of friends rented a small loft space together, each chipping in a little to pay the rent. Slowly, we started getting more gigs and contracts, with Cirque du Soleil for example; then we got into rock shows and permanent installations. Our studio was born because we were following our passion for visual performance and new styles of storytelling. Perhaps we were also fortunate to be part of a revolution in multimedia arts and at the forefront of something new. Now, we have approximately 150 people working full time at Moment Factory; a multidisciplinary talent pool that collaborates together and cross pollinates.

How would you describe Moment Factory?

Moment Factory is a new media, art and entertainment studio that specialises in creating shows and destinations. ‘we do it in public’ is our motto because we believe in creating engaging experiences in public spaces. Though there are many great companies and people developing customised entertainment for personal devices, Moment Factory is dedicated to creating new types of entertainment in public, where people from all walks of life gather together and cross paths; whether that’s at rock shows, or in a natural landscape, or at airports. What we really care about is connecting people physically to each other through the experiences we create for them.

What has been your favourite project?

It’s hard to choose only one, but I often say that my favourite project is the studio; that is, the people that make up Moment Factory who are learning and growing together and really pushing each other to create completely new experiences.

Ultimately, we learn from one project and we apply it to the next. More and more, we have been taking on turnkey projects: driving the creative, technical design, installation and the operations. We are also taking on permanent infrastructure projects. Therefore, I’m super excited by our project Foresta Lumina, an illuminated trail in the forest where people can journey and discover various installations within a nighttime environment. I’m equally proud of our collaboration with the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which is an outstanding permanent piece; it is very exciting to be able to give birth to something that will last. I feel like we have really pushed innovation in the rock show world by collaborating with various bands, lighting designers, stage designers and show directors. For me, it is extremely motivating to see Moment Factory’s culture grow as the medium and our audiences expand.

You have opened an office in London. What’s the reason?

The choice was a natural one: London is known

for being a creative hub and for its cutting-edge entertainment. By opening a new office in London, we are looking to nurture relationships with existing clients, as well as to build new ones in the industry with partners, freelancers and local providers.

Who is heading the office and what’s their background?

The new office is headed up by Simon Lupini, who has many years’ experience working in the entertainment and events industries both in the UK and abroad, for example as the Head of Events for the Royal Albert Hall and as the Company Manager for Cirque du Soleil. Simon was a producer on Moment Factory’s first original theatrical and multimedia show on board the Royal Caribbean International’s new ship, the Quantum of the Seas. At the London office, he will soon be joined by a creative director.

You recently gave the keynote address at IALD’s Enlighten Americas conference in Baltimore. How did you find the experience?

It was a great opportunity to be among talented, knowledgeable and amazing individuals who have been the force behind iconic architectural lighting design projects. We had really great discussions. It’s not every day that I have the opportunity to be in the company of so many people who are as passionate as I am about light.

What do you think the professions of lighting design and multimedia arts could learn from each other?

I have always been fascinated by light and amazed by its mysteries.

However, sometimes as lighting professionals we see light as something scientific; as something that has lumens and brightness and colour and shape, not as something that is magical and fundamental to life. At Moment Factory, we don’t work necessarily with code specifications and safety requirements, for example with respect to light intensities in public spaces; we work with light for entertainment and to create emotion for people.

So, there is a difference between how we use light as a medium and how architectural lighting designers use light as a medium.

However, these are definitely complementary disciplines. I am in this industry because of my fascination with light and I think it’s important to collaborate with all kinds of lighting designers.

That’s why when we were commissioned to illuminate the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal, a project that will launch in 2017, we invited a group of independent lighting designers to work with us.

So far, this collaboration, while at times challenging, has proved rewarding because our collaborators have brought to the table a whole different set of approaches and points of views. www.momentfactory.com

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[snapshot] Propagating lighting design based on the fundamental thought of ‘Seeing with Light’, Be Lit has completed more than 90 projects in 10 years. They have made a mark with the belief that good lighting design brings better quality to architecture and the end users. Ranging from hospitality to residential, corporate to cultural, each project tells a unique tale of exquisite lighting.

FYI Center Bangkok, Thailand ‘For Your Inspiration’ (FYI) is designed as a creative hub office zone for the new crop of the working class. While the architecture translates this idea into the building concept, it is imperative for the lighting scheme to reinforce the same. Located on a busy intersection, the building is witness to large volumes of traffic owing to the proximity of a passing flyover. Using the site conditions to their advantage, Be Lit exploited the expansive façade by creating a dynamic installation. Fitting addressable RGB LEDs on the vertical mullions, the graphic was kept simple and clean; a real-time digital clock, cycling artwork, scrolling text etc.

Considering the L shape of the structure, it was necessary to prevent visibility of the LED fittings from within the offices. Thus, 7mm wide aluminium strips were embedded in the mullions to conceal the light source from one side. While in the day, the building holds itself in a stoic manner, at night the entire face comes alive as a media façade.

Pics: Be Lit Co. Ltd.

Pics: Minor International PCL

Anantara Phuket Layan Resort and Spa Phuket, Thailand Located on the quiet and charming beach of Layan in Phuket, the resort is designed in a peculiar contemporary Thai style using a warm and natural material palette. The building is bathed in the golden hue of LED fixtures that create a relaxing holiday mood.

Up and down fixtures form diffused puddles

of light in the pool area, giving adequate ambient illumination. The uplight component washes the roof overhang, accentuating fine architectural details. The pool houses a series of underwater fittings that are installed on the walls facing away from the deck, while the floor is fitted with fiber optics in a

random pattern. The interior space follows a similar design language with warm intimate ambient light complimented by stronger accents on the full height feature showcases.

The lighting scheme is controlled with a Smart Control System, which allows four different presets to aid maximum comfort.

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Oberoi Hotel Gurgaon, India The Oberoi, Gurgaon is a testament of sophistication and class, and its lighting design is a reflection of the refined taste with which the property is conceived, created and operated. Be Lit extends this superior air to the façade of the building, rendering it in the gentle warmth of an amber hue. The interiors are illuminated in a soft glow and accents highlight architectural and functional nodes. Even low function areas such as the stairwell are treated with utmost care, choreographing the spiraling movement in an array of step lights recessed under the nosing of each tread. The restaurant focuses light on tables, drawing the eye to a crisp dining experience. Meticulously placed recessed directional spotlights cast precise beams on intended areas. The conference room ceiling is kept clean by providing concealed luminaires in coves that give sufficient

Pics: Be Lit Co. Ltd.

ambient light, facilitating the reduction of a plethora of surface recessed fixtures. The lighting scheme lives up to the reputation of the hotel brand name as being stylish, elegant and chic.

Jia Shanghai Shanghai, China The brief was to create a boutique hotel in an existing Shanghai art-deco building located on the famous Nanjing shopping street. With a target audience comprising of young and stylish travelers, the lighting scheme aimed to create an engaging and extraordinary visual experience. Before beginning construction and installation, Be Lit was required to the get the design approved by authorities to ensure adequate levels of illumination.

Addressing negative space, light on the façade was designed to uplight columns, which further illuminates the underbelly of balconies overhead. In the interior, ambient levels were kept reasonably low, and key moments were emphasised with focused light.

Narrow beam spotlights highlight a set of feature bear dolls at the far end of the lobby, while Chinese silk fabric draped across the walls of the lift lobby are bathed in a gentle wash of warm white. Birdcages suspended in the center are accentuated with adjustable downlights. Negative lighting continued to the guestroom corridors, where only the room doors were lit using wide beam ceiling recessed adjustable downlights. Creating high contrasts and sharp shadows, the passages stood in a repetitious intrigue.

Pics: Be Lit Co. Ltd.

BE LIT • Principal designer: Tippaya Prasertsuk • Head Office: Bangkok, Thailand • Established: 2005 • Employees: 12 • Current Projects: Trump Tower, Pune; Dusit D2 Hotel, New Delhi; Trident Hotel, Navi Mumbai; The Oberoi Hotel, New Delhi, (Renovation project); Marriott Courtyard Hotel, Shiliguri; JW Marriott Hotel and Serviced Apartment, Kolkata; The 42 Chowringhee Condominium, Kolkata; Eco Tourism Resort, Suhk Villas, Chandigarh; Six Senses Fort Bawarda, India; Six Senses Resort, Thimpu/Punakha/Gungtey/Paro/Bhumtung, Bhutan; Marriott Courtyard Hotel, Chittagong, Bangladesh; Six Senses Residence, Zil Paysyon, Republic of Seychelles; Rosewood Hotel, Bangkok; Hyatt Regency Hotel, Sukhumvit 13, Bangkok; Old Note Printing Work Museum, Bank of Thailand, Bangkok; Holiday Inn Hotel, Rayong, Thailand; Museum at Pichaipattanaram Temple, Chantaburi, Thailand and many more. www.be-lit.com

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[folio] Our regular feature highlighting the importance of lighting in the work of a design practice. This issue, we present NU.DE with Nuru Karim.

Nuru Karim trained as an architect in Mumbai and Montreal before acquiring a Masters degree from the Architectural Association [AADRL] in London. Having worked with Zaha Hadid Architects in London, Karim chose to head home in 2006, and founded a collaborative design office NU.DE, comprising of architects, designers, artists, fabricators and thinkers operating within the fields of architecture, urban-ism, computational research and digital fabrication. The practice situates its projects within a wider research context, which engage with the complex and layered conditions of the contemporary city. Through innovation driven by ideological, philosophical positions, they seek to create a tectonic, material and experiential architecture that is appropriate, contemporary and rooted in its context, at all scales. Besides exhibiting excellence through his architectural practice, Karim has also experimented with art installations, and is a regular at design schools as a juror. Having won several awards and competitions, and published widely, his work has been well acclaimed in the Indian and international design fraternity. The Charkha, a public art project was nominated for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, while his Deployable Arts Pavilion received the NDTV Award in 2014.

Nuru Karim, Founder & Principal Designer Arun Tillak, Design Associate Architect Favas Mohammad, Design Associate Architect

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Pics: Vidhi Maheshwari, Raonak Hathiramani / Recall Pictures

BAD Cafe Mumbai, Maharashtra The BAD Cafe project is designed as a tactile, sensory experience, which harbours a range of hybrid activities. The architectural component was designed to facilitate variegated functions such as yoga, gastronomical experiences, and cultural event spaces for music, art, performances, intellectual discourse and fashion. These activities are stacked vertically over three levels, including an open to sky terrace courtyard. Situated in a recently transformed historical village settlement, the building is set in a dense context, located away from traffic snarls and insulated from typically high levels of ambient sound. Wrapped in tranquility and peace, the surroundings permit the building to be explorative in its architectural vocabulary. Draped in a sheath of 25,992 black cylindrical conduits that are grafted into CNC’ed

aluminium composite box panels with acupuncture-like precision, the skin is reflective of an anatomical barrier from the exterior. The porous, perforated nature of the membrane allows natural light to permeate, the building to ventilate and breathe thereby reinforcing the relationship between the inside and outside, between body and soul.

The varied lengths of the PVC pipes construe an undulating surface that catches the sun at shifting angles to choreograph a dynamic play of light and shade. Streaks of brightness lie in stark contrast against the black sea of plastic rings. At night, the illuminated interiors emanate a dotted surface peppered with circles of light.

Uplighters located at the base of the wall emanate a unidirectional light, which attempts to reiterate the accentuation of the rippling jacket of pipes.

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‘Math Surface’ Corporate Office, Merchantile Group Kannur, Kerala Conceived as a prototype for a building envelope, the Math Surface is a digitally designed composition, using computer aided manufacturing processes such as 5 axis CNC machines for fabricating aluminium moulds and articulating surface perforations.

The artwork was fabricated using DuPont Corian including thermo-forming processes to articulate and define the complex mathematical geometry. The intricately designed parametric perforations allow for natural light to infiltrate the building façade and create a dappling effect in the interiors. The undulating surface invites a plethora of dynamic shadow formations through the day with shifting sun angles.

While the smooth shell captures the light in a sweeping motion, the moulded ridges cast sharp angular patches of shade, interrupted elegantly by illuminated dots as per the punctures of the complex texturized surface.

Pics: Sameer Chawda

Pics: Federico Del Monte

Rye-wood International School Lonavala, Maharashtra Located atop a hill in picturesque Lonavala, the school is an institute that propagates out of the box learning methodologies; and its architecture encourages the students to explore a sense of adventure, excitement and dynamism. Placed 622m above sea level, the project engages with its scenic setting, framing views and light into a series of playing, reading, studying and interacting

activities. Exploring terrain typologies, a courtyard enables an influx of daylight into the central space that gradually filters into the interiors. The building skin composed of vertical fins attempts to reconstitute the functions of enclosure and interfacing by means of ribs and voids. Stunning views are masked with dead walls, which give way to slivers of teasing vantages. This play of solid

and open facilitates shards of light entering the classroom behind the veil. In addition, the fins create a waltz of shadows on the building face as the sun traverses through the clear skies, inversely resulting in a fascinating play of daylight and shade inside. The inherent spirit of exploration and discovery amongst children is harboured within the playful and dynamic striated skin of the structure.

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Pics: Shamnath J Patil

ABC Emporio Kannur, Kerala A luxury sanitary and bath-ware showroom, Emporio was designed as a beacon for the ABC brand. Located in close proximity to a busy intersection along a national highway, the store firmly engages with the public realm and generates valuable visual connection. The client desired a cuttingedge and high-tech space, which was translated into the project through digital design and production. The composition was delivered in the form of a storefront that wraps the building in a crystalline skin of solid panels from DuPont Corian and natural stone veneer. The faceted glacier white surfaces are highlighted with highly saturated, coloured LED lights embedded in the cladding material, while the folds and points are accentuated with strip lights that run along the ridges. The angular planes and lines of light compose a continuum of fluent and continuous dynamic space, rendering the building interface as chiseled and vibrant. www.nudeoffices.com

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[lighting talk] mondo*arc india speaks with Morphogenesis, one of India’s leading and award winning contemporary architecture practices founded by Sonali and Manit Rastogi. In conversation with Sonali, the role of light is established as an integrated tool in the architectural process, imperative for a wholesome design, but inconsequential in isolation.

COULD YOU TELL US… …what made you become an architect?

I hail from a family of architects and therefore was exposed to architecture from a very young age. I grew up in my father’s studio and enjoyed every bit of it. Many summers were spent learning how to cut and assemble models. I relished the idea of going to site, and looked forward to it as an adventure. So for me, architecture was a quintessential part of my life.

Pic: Jatinder Marwaha

Artisan House Pic: Edmund Sumner

…why you chose to pursue your studies abroad?

While I was in college, the only source of information regarding what was happening in the world was a set of glossy magazines in our library. It was a time when many esoteric topics were being written about – the deconstructivist movement, German and French philosophy etc. I could not relate to these topics or establish a connect between my own architectural studies and global discourse, which was tending to be esoteric and metaphysical. It was also a time when drawings were being overmanipulated; a plan was never published as a plan – it was a collage of sketches with overlays of other contexts, plus, I wondered how a building could possibly be represented or built with these documents.

My curiosity and confusion inculcated a desire to be where the conversation was taking place, to understand what it was about, what it represented, and whether it delivered a different kind of architecture than what I knew.

Therefore, I chose to attend the Architectural Association in London, the epicentre of these design discussions, where I was exposed to global perspectives and philosophies. …what made you return to India and how Morphogenesis came about being established?

While AA was the center of global discourse, Manit and I realized the dearth of design conversation pertaining to India.

Occasionally, one heard of architects like

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JRE Group of Institutions Pic: Edmund Sumner

Amarnath

Travellers House

Visual: Morphogenesis

Pic: Edmund Sumner

Charles Correa or BV Doshi. A void of three decades of architecture compelled us to return to what seemed to be a paradigm shift. We had left a closed and insulated economy, but came back to a growing and emergent economy. Setting our own standards and benchmarks, we embarked on the journey of Morphogenesis, which completes two decades this year. …about your first explorations with light.

I have to credit my father for exposing me to the art of sketching as a child. It made me aware of light and shadow, and patterns cast by solid forms depending on the direction of light. Today everything has become automated. You can model a tree in Sketchup, drag it into an editing software,

select a light source and the shadows are created by themselves. The lack of handskills perhaps reduces the perception of fine grain nuances. The ability to draw makes one more aware of texture and light.

If you do not train your eye for light, you are unlikely to plan for it.

special effort to plan for shade and crossventilation. We often work with courtyards in our designs and the very basic concept of a courtyard is to get both sunlight and shade into the heart of the built form.

Responsive architecture is the design mantra that we practice at Morphogenesis.

…about the Morphogenesis working methodology and its approach to light and lighting.

Light and lighting is an integral part of the building design process. It is one of the many imperative aspects of a site or brief that we take into consideration at the initial stages. We work with a holistic approach to any project. In a sub-tropical climate like ours it is important to make a

…how natural light plays a pivotal role in some of your works.

I have always been intrigued by natural light. Being able to engage with it in our built environment has in fact driven us to experiment with it in our projects.

In one of our earlier projects, the Amarnath Shrine, the basic concept was centred around eight monolithic rocks cardinally aligned to the sun’s axis. The stones were

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[lighting talk]

Pearl Academy of Fashion, Jaipur Pic: Edmund Sumner

chiselled in a manner that at different times of the year, each one caught sunlight in a specific way. With fresh water running over them, the stream would sparkle as light hit the stone at varied angles. The intent was to make this pilgrimage vantage point as poetic as spiritual, and that was achieved by choreographing daylight over the boulders.

The Pearl Academy on the other hand, also harnessed daylight, but in a different manner. With a limited budget and restricted use after dark, the institutional building did not require extensive artificial lighting. This however did not deter us from experimenting and manipulating diffused natural light cast at the onset of dusk.

Mounting jalis against brightly painted orange walls that catch the amber of the setting sun, creates an illusion of the lattice work being backlit in a mellow glow.

Pearl Academy of Fashion, Jaipur Pic: Edmund Sumner

…the importance of shadow, and the balance of darkness and light in your work.

Shadows play an equally important part in our design process. In projects that comprise of courtyards, the quintessential idea is to bring shade and light into the building. When a perfect balance is struck between light and shadow, architecture finds its true glory. …if light is a magic wand in the hands of an architect, how would you use it to change the experience of space?

Every project is different and we approach

Concept Render Visual: Morphogenesis

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Delhi Art Gallery, Delhi Pic: Edmund Sumner

Concept Render

Delhi Art Gallery, Delhi

Visual: Morphogenesis

each design differently. Light gives us a sense of time. And to capture daylight well in a project is quite an admirable achievement. If the lighting quality in the space becomes one with the building, we consider to have accomplished what we set out to do.

We are currently working on a project which is particularly interesting when looked through the lens of light. The endeavour is to let light into the main living space, but change the texture and glow of its intensity through the day. Therefore we have designed a skylight that deflects sunlight onto a textured shingled surface, allowing the scattered rays to then illuminate the

Pic: Edmund Sumner

space. As the sun angle changes through the day, the light quality changes, imparting a distinct character in the space at different times; rendering an altered feel and appeal to it through the day.

On the other hand, artificial light and lighting is driven by the mood that needs to be created. It may become an important feature depending on the function of the built form. There is a lot of scope for light to enhance and augment what is being conceived spatially. The Delhi Art Gallery in Emporio Mall was designed to cater to the need for flexibility in usage. Therefore, the display and the lighting system were created in a manner that everything could

move and be adjusted as per requirement.

In the Chettinad Health City Auditorium, Chennai, the need was to design an interior space that was iconic, while the budget was restricted. Innovating with material, we used acoustic board in a manner that hid luminaires in layers of the undulating panels; avoiding extravagant expenditure on expensive fittings, while achieving desired lighting effects. …about the role light plays in the life of a city.

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about public lighting at an urban scale is safety. If a place is well lit,

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[lighting talk]

Chettinad Health City Auditorium, Chennai

Chettinad Health City Auditorium, Chennai

Pic: Bharath Ramamrutham

Pic: Bharath Ramamrutham

Harley Davidson India, Gurgaon Pic: Amit Pasricha

it invites more users; and there is most certainly safety in numbers. Often the leftover negative spaces in the city that need to be revitalized, also need to be well illuminated, which is a gradual process. The advent of LED technology has allowed many changes; public lighting has become cost effective and energy efficient.

Light also symbolises celebration. In a culturally diverse country like India, festivals and light are some of the most distinct ways to spread cheer. The lighting up of a city sends out a vibe of joyfulness that can uplift the spirit of its citizens. At the end of the day, cities are about memories and the impact that they leave on us.

However, with respect to lighting our cities at night, I do believe that there is a definite

need for more innovation in the way we illuminate our institutional and commercial buildings. We need to be more dynamic in our approach towards lighting spaces that we use everyday. …how Delhi, projected as a world Heritage City, can also maintain its mantle at night when darkness shrouds over the urban fabric, hiding all evidence of historicity.

It is interesting that most historic sites in the city are only accessible in the day, when most residents are busy with work. It is quite unfortunate that when the citizens do get free, the heritage sites close for the day. Thus, the heritage of the city is always hidden from its public.

These buildings and structures need to be

illuminated, open and accessible to the people of the city. They need to be offered as moments of pride, creating landmarks in the urban fabric. Add light to the local landmarks and the city will open itself up to its residents post dusk, inculcating a sense of security and acceptability. …whether you think there is an intrinsic need for dedicated lighting education, courses, institutes, conferences, or magazines.

While I consider lighting as an essential design tool, it is one of the many other design tools in the process. I would not isolate it as being special. However, it is a field wherein innovation is the need of the hour. Lighting design has to be imbibed in

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India Glycols Headquarter, Noida Pic: Edmund Sumner

our building style, and it needs to gain a place of importance. I would not say that there is a need to introduce special courses as such, but at the same time, lighting does need to be addressed in the course of design study. We need to integrate the subject into the design process as it cannot and must not be taught in isolation. …whether there is a need to recognise the field of lighting design, perhaps through dedicated awards programs.

I believe we need to integrate light more closely in the built form and not segregate it as an independent component. It would be difficult to adjudge a project based solely on its lighting intent. A building is meant to lend itself to the lighting, and in turn its lighting should blend with the built form. If you consider Calatrava’s work, you cannot segregate his structural genius from the architectural aesthetics or lighting design. They are all integrated and inseparable. This is ideally how architecture and light should work.

In order to judge the lighting design of a building in isolation, all the entries should cater to the same architectural project; to fully comprehend how each lighting designer intends to accentuate the same built form and thus understand their respective approaches.

India Glycols Headquarter, Noida Pic: Andre J Fanthome

…about the best illuminated places you have visited.

I like the way the Aman hotel was originally lit. I felt it was a little on the darker side but the spaces were tall and long, and so the illumination style complimented the experience of the space. The lighting design attempted to enhance the scale of the project.

The Church of Water by Tadao Ando is another interesting project. The experience of the space is truly surreal. www.morphogenesis.org

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IT’S AS GOOD AS YOU MAKE IT Skipping continents to discover his passion for lighting, Bo Steiber, Managing Director of Bo Steiber Lighting Design talks to Mrinalini Ghadiok about his fascinating journey from an electrical engineer to one of the most sought after designers in South East Asia.

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The Pavilion, DLF Golf and Country Club, Gurgaon Pic: André J Fanthome

Sitting at a far corner of The Pavilion at the DLF Golf and Country Club, I stared into the distance enthralled by the breathtaking site of a sprawling verdant expanse stunted only by the unremitting sky. Bathed in the burnt hues of the setting sun, I watched as the space around me slowly transformed from clement ebullience to a refined grandeur. As the cerulean blanket overhead deepened, the glass box arose as a burnishing lantern in the ashen landscape. Amidst the flutter of Gurgaon, I found myself relishing an evening at what seemed like an exotic resort on a remote island.

Reeling from the obscure memory of a time spent in luxurious cerebration, I pull myself to the sensibility of the present continuum. Dialling from a cold wintery morning in Delhi, I connect to a warm balmy Phuket afternoon. Cheerful, owing to “another glorious day in paradise”, Bo Steiber answers the distinct Skype call with a discernible smile.

Bo hails from Sweden, where he spent his formative years. Now he shuttles between the tropical islands of Singapore and Phuket, between an impelling work life and the quietude of home. His is an intriguing

story of travel from Scandinavian territories to the placid waters of the east.

Soon after graduating as an electrical engineer in the mid 70s, Bo decided to seek adventure in worldwide travel. Packing his belongings, he set off backpacking across the globe. After spending much pleasurable time in South East Asia, he headed towards Australia, knowing in his heart that he would return some day.

The land down under was kind to him, and Bo plunged into its depths. Taking up work with a multi-disciplinary engineering company, lighting became a part and parcel of what he was doing. Intrigued by the discipline, Bo found himself signing up for a lighting design course offered at the University of Sydney. Recently initiated, the program was headed by Professor Warren Julian, the dean at the time.

With his on-going work as an engineer and intensive studies with Prof. Julian, it was not long before Bo began to realise his passion for lighting. He was further encouraged by the success of some of his projects, which were completed with much acclaim and also awarded by the Australian IES.

In my conversation with Bo I suggest that he perhaps stumbled into the world of lighting, to which the reply is fairly amused, but passionately honest, “I don’t remember how I stumbled into lighting, but I know that I never regretted it.”

“Of what I have achieved, I owe a lot to Prof. Julian, who remains a fond friend and continues to visit our offices. He launched me on my path to lighting, which is not something I grew up with, but rather something that I acquired.” Having heard praise for Prof. Julian repeatedly, it was only aphoristic to contact him and inquire his thoughts about Bo. Kind enough to respond in the thick of the festive season, he had nothing but commendation for Bo in return.

In the 15 years that Bo spent in Australia, he worked on a plethora of projects ranging from hotels, to office buildings, restaurants to fit-outs. One of his initial projects was a chain of restaurants called The Keg. A typical theme based eatery, it demanded much exploration with coloured light for memorabilia. In those days experimenting with different coloured light involved red, green, blue and yellow R60 lamps,

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Prof. Warren Julian says...

It is a pleasure to be asked to write a few words about Bo, as a student and later as one of the pioneering lighting designers in Asia. Bo was one of the first groups of students to undertake the graduate Lighting Design course at the University of Sydney.

Bo was hungry to learn more about lighting as his interest grew in the subject from his experience in the electrical side of building services. Before completing the course he moved to Singapore to work with a firm of consulting engineers. He later left the firm and started his own practice. During that difficult time of establishing the business he also wanted to complete the course; and with a bit of creativity with university rules we were able to make that possible.

Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru Pic: Adarsh Developers

Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru Pic: Adarsh Developers

As a student he was a demanding, no-nonsense person, just as he is in his professional life.

His demands were to learn as much as possible, rather than minimising the effort needed.

Again, this characteristic has served him well over the years of establishing himself, and now as one of the region’s leading designers. He had to create a demand for his services from clients who were used to “free” design services from suppliers.

Many years ago, I remember staying in a hotel in Yogyakarta in Java and saying to my wife that the lighting design was very good and wondered, from the style and awareness of both the practical needs of the client and the sensitivity to the architecture and the culture, if the work had been done by Bo. On returning to Sydney, I contacted Bo and was both pleasantly surprised

and proud that he was the designer. It is a great experience for a teacher to know, from knowing the student, what his/her work will be like.

We have continued the friendship that started so many years ago and I have provided some in-house training for his staff, because he believes in lighting education and because none was available in Singapore. I have watched his career and those of his staff with interest and pride.

He has supported the profession by presenting papers at conferences and through articles in lighting magazines.

He is an outstanding designer. He is a great advertisement for the value adding that comes from using competent, creative, independent lighting designers.

or sometimes small Par Cans with colour filters. Bo pushed the envelope to create much needed, and much appreciated dramatics. He was enjoying lighting and having fun with it, and perhaps this is where a lighting designer was born.

In 1986 Bo was appointed as Principal of a notable engineering firm in Sydney, and then went on to establish their South East Asia office in Singapore in1991. With the first project being related to lighting design, Bo was the obvious choice; and he thus set adrift back towards Asian shores.

He spent over six months working in the Singapore office, during which he realised an overwhelming potential to develop the idea of lighting design in the city. Tracing only a handful of dedicated designers in the region, there was staring prospect in the forefront. With a desire to pursue as an independent designer, Bo bid farewell and took flight on a crucial yet imperative sabbatical; and the next six months were spent in Sweden with family.

With a constant look out for opportunities, the perfect fortune came a-knocking.

Vision Lighting Studio sought a lighting designer to open their office in Sydney.

Hoping to extend their work to Singapore, it was barely a year before Bo headed back into the Eastern seas to take over their Singapore office as the Regional Manager in 1994. However, three years later due to irreconcilable differences between the design studio and the ambitious Swede, they decided to part ways.

The moment of truth was realised when clients called upon Bo to finish their abandoned projects. Starting his own lighting consultancy, the designer never faced a dearth of clients or work. “As it turned out, I had more work than I knew how to handle at that time,” he exclaims.

With the turning of the year into 1998 and

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Suntec City, Singapore Pic: Courtesy of Suntec Singapore

in the midst of the great financial crisis in Asia, life was not easy. However, 1999 brought a slew of interesting projects to Bo Steiber Lighting Design (BSLD), and they never did or have looked back.

Bo pauses in contemplation and with full regard and utmost humility he says, “I must give credit to my supporters, and of course my good friend, Vikas Gore who introduced us to work in India.” Referring to one of his first lighting design projects in the country, the Crossroads Shopping Mall in Mumbai, Bo reminisces about the state of the industry nearly two decades ago.

Bo ruminates his interaction with an enthusiastic electrical engineer Firdaus Masani and the gentile Gulab Kalani, a lighting supplier; who went out of their way to help with the installation and required lighting fixtures, albeit stringent import laws.

“There was almost no lighting design in India then. I don’t think there was even a decent lighting supplier in those days.

I mean no disrespect to those we worked with, but with difficult import restrictions it was not possible to bring in light fittings from overseas. Everything had to be manufactured in a shed in the backyard.”

I probe whether that was the golden chance to experiment with ‘customising’ luminaires; and I am immediately asked, “How much can one play around with a

little piece of aluminium?!”

Working hard, Bo has since carved a niche for himself and his work in the country. In the late 1990s, BSLD bagged the illumination for Leela Palace in Bangalore, and went on to light a number of their properties. BSLD worked with large developers and real estate honchos across the length and breadth of India.

Recounting his experience here, Bo narrates a bittersweet tale. “I was always fortunate to work with very hospitable clients, made numerous friends along the way, and enjoyed visiting the country regularly.

Over the years, I have also witnessed impressively educated and competent vendors that not only understand the technical requirements of lighting products, but also the need of the developer and designer.”

On the flip side, we discuss the challenges faced while working with the Indian lighting and construction industry. It is fast established that there is an utter lack of consideration for time. “What might take two to three years to complete in Singapore, could take up to ten years in India, irrespective of what it may be. Even a small restaurant that we recently worked on in Kolkata, took two years to complete.”

Bo goes on to elucidate the reason for this and theorises that if developers do not borrow money from banks to buy land, and

do not have to pay ludicrous interests as they do in most countries, they do not have the an urgency to finish the projects, that which developers in other countries do. This often results in complacency in concluding the work.

However, Bo does feel that times are a-changing and new winds bring fresh thought. He is a great encourager and propagator of young talent. He has gone from being the only designer in the firm, to now focusing on being the Managing Director, and mentoring his team on the overall process of the projects, from design concepts to design implementation.

From an early stage he felt, “It is important to attract quality designers with different skills. The philosophy of my practice is not that I am the one that is doing everything, but I influence what we do, and I want to explore the creativity of my staff.”

“In 2000 I was blessed to have the pleasure of three staff joining me - Pornpimon Piumpongsuk, an architect and trained lighting designer, Josephine Abreu Dimalibot, also an architect, and Ho Li Li, an interior architect. They are my key designers, and for the past 15 years they have kept everything together. I don’t think that what we have achieved would have been possible without the three of them.

The way that I look at my company is that it is only as good as the people that work

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DETAILS

Huvafen Fushi Resort, Maldives Pic: Per Aquum Huvafen Fushi

Tokio-Marine Centre, Singapore

Huvafen Fushi Resort, Maldives

Pic: Bo Steiber Lighting Design

Pic: Per Aquum Huvafen Fushi

in it. The design that we produce is only as good as the people who participate in the process.”

I am pleasantly surprised to witness such self-effacing in today’s rather covetous design industry. I take this opportunity to plunge into details of a claim that titled the practice as probably the largest in the world. Dismissing it as a frivolous rumour, Bo states instead, “From the humble beginnings of doing hospitality projects and with the addition of educated designers, we are now involved with anything from shops and apartments to airports. We are not the biggest lighting design firm, but we probably do have the widest and largest range of projects in South East Asia.”

Counting off a number of airports such as those in Hong Kong, Singapore, Middle East and Bangalore, and now working with the Indian Aviation Authority for regional airports in India, besides plentiful stadia, theatres and shopping malls; BSLD has most definitely dug its feet firm into the ground. “We can actually take on just about anything and that is because we have the experience and a well educated team.”

On questioning about their work in India, I am intrigued to hear a list of greatly coveted and prestigious large-scale projects with developers like Adarsh in Bangalore

and DLF in Delhi; but also generously peppered with myriad high-end residences.

“There are some fantastic projects in India, specially a few cultural, historical and institutional buildings. From the developer’s point of view with respect to office towers, the situation is not really where it should be. However, there is a lot going on and I think it can only improve.”

Having worked intensely in South East Asia, Bo illustrates the significance of light and lighting in the variegated projects that they have illuminated, and the difference in design philosophy for each of them. He says, “Every country is different and we treat every project differently.”

Picking the Tokio Marine in Singapore as one of his favourites, he describes how the structure on the outside of the building against the immaculately finished exposed concrete offered an ideal canvas for them to illuminate. Diametrically opposite, the breathtaking Huvafen Fushi Resort that delicately floats in the warm waters of the Maldives is painted with the gentlest strokes of light, rendering the space elegant and weightless. With a star studded sky above and a perfect reflection of the sparkling blanket at one’s feet, the experience of dining within the shallow pool is beyond surreal. With masterstrokes and a palette of eternal light, Bo and his team create

not only enigmatic spaces but also ethereal experiences.

Working closely with the architects and other design teams on projects such as the Bulgari Resort in Bali, Bo and his partners were presented the perfect opportunity to innovate, not only with light effects, but also lighting products that complimented the designed ambience. Deriving inspiration from cock-fighting cages, typical of the region, they developed fixtures that were used as bollards in some areas and suspended as pendants in others. The tall, slender street lamps placed gallantly at the entrance to the villas were inspired from local fishing rods.

“That is why projects are different. Here, we created romance with bespoke light fittings. This is a result of customisation, and discussion and design collaboration between architects, interior designers and landscape designers.” Wishing they could get involved earlier in the design process on many projects, Bo emphasises the need for lighting designers to be integrated from the onset. “We get involved almost always too late. In the case of façade lighting, it is very important to be a part of the discussion when the architect is conceptualising the building in the first place. For university and schools projects, day lighting and intended lighting can actually shape the way the

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Bvlgari Resort, Bali Pic: Murray Fredericks

Bvlgari Resort, Bali Pic: Murray Fredericks

The Pavilion, DLF Golf and Country Club, Gurgaon Pic: André J Fanthome

architect designs some aspects of the building.” When asked if they get much of a chance to work from day one, Bo does not lose a second to respond, “Not enough!”

We agree that there is an intrinsic need to bring about a change in outlook and attitude of the clients as well as designers today. “Not only are we lighting designers, but we are also educators.” Bo places the onus on the younger generation, and rightly so. “Your peers and your generation is the one that can change things for the better.

It is up to you. I understand that your initiative with mondo*arc india is part of that attempt to change people’s mindset in the country. I understand that this is what you are actually trying to do. It is you and your generation who are the ones that can shape the future of India.”

Flustered, and at the same time inspired, I am immediately taken back to the bewitching sunset against the capacious greens of The Pavilion at the DLF Golf and Country Club. Beaming into the emblazoned landscape, surrounded by the radiance of familiar illumination, I can’t help but reflect the thoughts of Prof. Julian, “I wonder…from the style and awareness of both the practical needs of the client and the sensitivity to the architecture and the culture, if this work has been done by Bo.” www.bsld.com.sg

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Celebrating light

The invisible-visible that renders soul into a lifeless moment - that is light The discipline that sanctions this transformation - that is the act of light It is the soul as opposed to the science It is the consciousness as opposed to the being It is the inspiration along with reflection The experience as opposed to seeing 2015 marked the beginning of a revolution the culmination of many an evolution the coming together of an insitution a proclamation, a declaration

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CELEBRATING LIGHT 2015 was a significant year for light.

Declared as the International Year of Light (IYL) by the United Nations, 2015 was celebrated across the world by scientists, designers, architects, students and enthusiasts alike. The aim was to raise awareness of the achievements of light science and its applications, and its importance to humankind. With thousands of events spanning hundreds of countries, the IYL gained much popularity in India as well.

Kickstarting the movement was the Story of Light that was held in Goa in January.

With 45 installations peppered across the city that tested and manipulated the possibilities of light, the festival located itself on the intersection of science and art, with content that was both experiential and educational. A couple of months later, Mumbai witnessed the launch of mondo*arc india, the first initiative of STIR (See. Think.

Inspire. Reflect), a registered Collaborative Partner with IYL 2015. With a congregation of nearly 400 guests hailing from the fields of architecture, design, art, fashion, real estate, hospitality, and media among others; the evening was a celebration of education and a keen awareness of

light in the built environment, media and performance arts. Riding on IYL 2015, it was the perfect time and setting to inaugurate the first publication of its kind in the country as an arena to discuss and promote light.

Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organisation under the Department of Science and Technology, initiated a movement titled Spreading The Light of Science to Schools and The Public. They produced a number of short films on this topic, to be aired on a national television channel for students across India.

The remaining year saw numerous events sprinkled over the country, broadly categorised as general awareness, science exhibitions, festivals, fairs, and contests. Universities, schools, research organisations, scientific councils, government bodies, NGOs and private groups participated in the on-goings to make IYL 2015 a resounding concept. With conventions ranging from ‘Women and Light’ (Hassan, Karnataka) to ‘Candles of Power’ (Vadodara, Gujrat) to ‘Lux Pacifica’ (Kolkata, West Bengal), 2015 brought to the forefront an intrinsic need for conscious acknowledgment of ‘light’.

Marking many significant anniversaries, the year was also dotted with celebratory events and commemorations Year 1015 Works on optics by Ibn AlHaytham.

Year 1815 The notion of light as a wave, proposed by Fresnel.

Year 1865 The electromagnetic theory of light propagation, proposed by Maxwell.

Year 1915 Einstein’s theory of the photoelectric effect in 1905 and of the embedding of light in cosmology through general relativity.

Year 1965 Discovery of the cosmic microwave background by Penzias and Wilson, and Charles Kao’s achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication.

We walk through some of the events, Indian and global, that helped shape the International Year of Light 2015, transgressing boundaries and bringing people together from across the world.

There is a magic of light that we are born with, an enigma through which we traverse our existence. Light becomes the medium, the experience and the force with which we evolve.

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celebrating light / chiara carucci

WE ARE LIGHT! Chiara Carucci, professional lighting designer and co-founder of L-RO sheds ‘light’ on the year gone by. Assisted by Martina Frattura, Carucci elucidates on the importance of light and its intrinsic role in our lives today.

Win a Lighting Makeover - Guerrilla Lighting at Norra Djursgårdsstaden, Stockholm, Sweden Pics: ÅF Lighting, 2015

With the people for the people, through ‘Light’. This was the ambitious goal of a yearlong celebration of the most powerful trigger. Able to modulate the brain, to inspire creativity, to induce feelings, to encourage talks and debates, to return the beauty of the world we live in, by letting us see clearly in every condition: this is just a part of what light can do.

50 events were realized as part of the Official Activities Programme by LightingRelated Organizations (L-RO), partner of UNESCO, for the International Year of Light and light-based technologies 2015.

The aim now is to learn from the people involved and to go back to the essence of this sharing: light, lighting and its infinitive depth.

In fact throughout 2015 lighting designers, educators and students from 20 different countries donated part of their working

Win a Lighting Makeover - Guerrilla Lighting at Norra Djursgårdsstaden, Stockholm, Sweden Pics: ÅF Lighting, 2015

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Win a Lighting Makeover - Guerrilla Lighting at Norra Djursgårdsstaden, Stockholm, Sweden Pics: ÅF Lighting, 2015

hours selflessly in favour of the profession, and in order to realize the events. These cover social, technical, educational, cultural and artistic approaches to light and its technology.

Light is considered a key tool for ‘Life Improvement’. From a biological standpoint, research has shown that light exposure effects people within two different routes, Image and Non Image Forming paths; which are respectively related to visual experience and ability, and physiological and psychological states.

Everyone’s first approach to light is with the natural one. ‘Daylight’ is still a very delicate topic, especially in areas where there is a big seasonal difference in terms of dark and bright hours. Despite this, in most cases, we still refer to daylight as something beautiful to perceive and to enjoy.

People love beauty, the one that according

to physics is not just subjective, but resides in the brain of the beholders. ‘Art’ does the same: together with and through light it is used as a very powerful tool.

This goes through the ‘Perception’, the subjective experience that every type of light and lighting can provoke a person. Still a subjective perception is the experience of space, as soon as we approach it or after having stayed there for a while. The architecture can be completely shaped by light and in this case that understanding of ‘Technology’ is essential to turn it into an advantage.

It can help with dimming and modifying, as well as communicating, through mediafacades for instance. The only request is to choose the most suitable method available to dispose of it in the best way.

In terms of ‘Vision’, light creates a hierarchy of values, establishing what is

Lumières - The Play of Brilliants, Paris, France Pics: Oeuvre de DGT "Luce tempo luogo" - PH Niki Takehiko

important to see or where it is nice or feels safer to stay – imagining a dark room and a light room in comparison, it is very likely that a person would tend to stay in the lit one to feel more comfortable – which is the perceptual experience. Light also plays with our memories, in fact it is able to trigger past emotions by association with specific evocative spaces, working as a cue to already known feelings.

The challenge of lighting design is to translate user needs in planning features and creating tailored areas and spaces according to the feeling that is to be pursued. A complete human-centric lighting care is the main goal of present and future designers, creating a widespread and grounded knowledge, to be accessible from different fields and perspectives, and embraceable by all light lovers.

WE ARE LIGHT!

Lighting design is a unique profession, which allows its practitioners to apply both natural and artificial lighting, while designing for comfort and productivity, atmosphere and feelings. Collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, lighting designers take responsibility for the impact of light on humans, the economy and the environment.

Lighting-Related Organizations is a voluntary federation of 48 associations, educational institutions and media organizations, active on an international scale. As a Partner, L-RO supports IYL 2015 and UNESCO with the Official Activities Program. www.l-ro.org

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celebrating light / kapil surlakar

2015, the year gone by As the International Year of Light draws to a close, architect, lighting designer, educationist and enthusiast, Kapil Surlakar recounts the year that was.

Pic: Roheet Hede

The New Year Begins at the stroke of midnight. For the lighting buff, it probably begins with the first sunrise, and as lighting science would dictate, you wake up to a new year with the first ray of sunshine. This of course discounts the people who ‘feel light’ (pun intended) and float through the midnight transition of old to new, unaware and accompanied by psychedelic light.

On a more serious note, let us discuss how the year 2015, declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Light and Light-based technologies (IYL 2015), panned out for India. The IYL was planned to bring about awareness on how light, besides playing a vital role in our daily lives, can provide answers to global problems of energy, health, education and agriculture, and also connect the global communities culturally.

The initiative saw a huge global participation, and Indians were not far behind in their enthusiasm and fervour to learn. The IYL website lists close to 200 events that aligned themselves to the initiative in India. The events varied from

being highly technical and scientific, to cultural, fun and informative. A majority of the events listed were conducted by educational institutions or research organizations and sometimes used to promote technologies and innovations, or thoughts that were currently in use or at the cusp of being commercially introduced to the use of common man for the betterment of life. There were some events which were of cultural nature and some which were very informative and participatory, elevated to a festival status by due publicity giving it an aura of public festivity.

‘The Story of Light’ held over four days in Goa, from 14th to 18th January 2015, had a participation of artists and scientists from 14 countries engaged in various activities, cultural and artistic yet informative installations at various locations which were open to the public. However, what I found strange was the limited involvement of the Goan community in the process, as well as the lack of significant impact it had on any decision makers in the state of Goa. It

gave a distinct feeling that the event was planted in Goa for the fact that it is a great destination and welcomes participation from the international community, a lot of who are already present in Goa during that period. Not taking away from the effort of the organizers, it could have been better to transcend the borders of mere art, data and festivity to information and application. The festival could have aimed to give a direction to the people in power and influence decisions related to light and human health, and well being at a community level; wherein we know that light is a major influence on the quality of life one can experience beyond the sunset hours, merely by the presence of the quality and quantity of light.

Being an architectural lighting designer makes me judgmental and sometimes cynical about the treatment and interpretation of light by other people involved in the lighting industry. It then puts into focus, how small a part of the human psyche is occupied by light, especially in a

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Pic: Roheet Hede

Pic: Roheet Hede

Pic: Mitwa A.V

tropical country like ours, wherein we have abundant sunlight and are largely unaware of its manifestations on our daily lives.

Architectural lighting design as a profession and knowledge is even further relegated to insignificance. In my limited view, I would definitely have liked more government agencies and decision making bodies in India, with the power to influence and dictate the shape of things to come, to take a more serious note of the aspect of light as a huge influence on human well being and not merely treat it as an expensive accessory, to be indulged in, sometimes to convey grandeur and pomp.

It was heartening to see some very socially relevant themes as well as themes related to human development, as well as sustainability, free from a LED biased spectrum being discussed. Varied themes such as the relevance and influence of blue light on human health, and its applications in the medical research industry to treat human ailments, as also basic issues such as effective harnessing of light, which could

Pic: Mitwa A.V

make sustainable living a reality were part of the IYL agenda in India. “Woman and Light” in Hassan, probably highlighted the women who apart from dealing with light in a basic form such as fire that they deal with in cooking, to women’s contribution in the field of optics. This is a socially relevant theme for rural India in context of the growing contribution of women in the India story, necessary to highlight the vast disparity that exists in the status of women across India. Kanpur saw an event that deliberated on ‘The Role of Light and Light based Technologies for Rural Development and providing better life to Rural Communities’. It is important that the governments and decision makers wake up to the real issues and not subscribe to commercially driven single-minded agendas, which hijack the real story of light and its benefits to the human race.

On a parting note - I was in London in the month of May and met up with an ex colleague; a British national, who now works for a design firm based in London.

The much promoted “Make in India” policy of our Prime Minister was at the back of my mind when he informed me that their design firm was awarded the architectural lighting design contract for Indian Prime Minister’s pet project, the ‘Statue of Unity, commemorating one of India’s freedom fighters, Sardar Vallabhai Patel. His tongue in cheek remark to me is something that the decision makers and the design professionals in our country have to take note of. He said, “We have been asked to design the lighting for the ‘Statue of Unity’ in India, a statue of some guy, who apparently had a big role in driving us out of India.” The design professionals and Indian lighting industry should also note that riding on misinformation only puts us one step back and does not allow the Indian design industry and designers to grow to their full potential. I hope that everybody can appreciate the irony and humor, and digest the bitter truth and sentiment that this one statement throws light on. www.lightdesignconsultants.com

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celebrating light / harsh chitale

Philips LightVibe Premiere of Sweet Summer Sun Pics: Courtesy Philips

2015, THE YEAR GONE BY Harsh Chitale, CEO of Philips Lighting Solutions, South Asia recounts the past year as an important milestone in the lighting industry, headlining past trends and future technology.

The UN General Assembly 68th Session proclaimed 2015 as the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies (IYL 2015) and the year 2015 exemplified this title in its true sense. The lighting market, both internationally and in India underwent rapid transformation last year.

Trends in lighting today are majorly driven by two factors: the growing adoption of LED technology and increasing popularity of connected lighting systems. These powerful, mutually reinforcing trends are fundamentally altering the underlying economics and the way lighting solutions

are getting used by consumers as well as businesses. With digital and smart lighting, lighting has now moved beyond just giving ‘Illumination’. Smart Lighting solutions can now make workers more productive, reduce accidents in plants, make our cities safer, help post-operative patients recuperate faster, and help retailers drive higher sale of their merchandize.

Even at homes, lighting has evolved from being just a functional necessity, to playing a bigger role in our lives today. It is now getting used to shape and transform environments well beyond

just illumination. Connected lighting for Homes, pioneered by Philips Hue system, has taken the lighting experience to another level, and is now allowing consumers to personalize lighting based on their needs and moods. Lighting now can be programmed and connected to the internet to wake you up, tell you when you have received an important email, alert to the weather, keep home safe when you are away or act as an enhanced entertainment system by connecting to your TV/ Audio system.

Another major trend that we have

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Spock (wall mounted), Modular; Hope (Suspension), Luceplan

Philips Light Patterns - Round Sparkle light effect

Philips - meeting room

observed, especially when it comes to home lighting is that design and aesthetics are increasingly playing a role in the selection of lights. People who spend millions of Rupees in buying or building a house, want to spend on decorative premium lighting concepts that enhance aesthetics and ambiences. Hence, from a simple wall light to an elegant piece of luxurious and cutting edge lighting concept, and in all the products from our premium brands such as Luceplan and Modular, design has been a strong area of focus for us. Lighting design is both an art and a science and consumers are fast realising that lighting can be instrumental in helping the space meet the intent of its owner.

Light is the essence of life. Without light, there is no life. Most of the time, we take it for granted and only really notice it when it is absent. We at Philips Lighting are committed to ensuring that one has to live in a world where there is no access to clean and reliable light as and when needed. Unfortunately, there are about a billion people on our planet (of which about 300 million in India), who still do not have access to electrical lights today.

Their available productive time of a day is reduced to almost 50-60% of what it is for rest of the world. With cost effective solar power based energy efficient LED lighting solutions, we can end this ‘Light Poverty’ and bring everyone in the world on the path of progress and development, path that our Prime Minister calls the ‘Prakash Path’. www.lighting.philips.co.in

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project / SONNENHOF, JENA, GERMANY

angular atmosphere Challenged by J. MAYER H.'s angular design, lichttransfer has created a bespoke lighting scheme that celebrates the contemporary architecture, while creating an inviting communal space for workers, residents and visitors of Sonnenhof 's courtyard.

Pics: David Franck

Sonnenhof consists of four new buildings with office, retail and residential spaces.

Located on a consolidated number of smaller lots in the historical centre of Jena, Germany, the separate structures allow for free access through the grounds. Each building has been placed on the outer edges of the plot, defining a small-scale outdoor space congruent with a medieval city structure. “The idea was to fill the huge site in the middle of the historic centre with buildings of about the same size as the ones from the past,’’ explained J.MAYER.H’s Founding Partner Juergen Mayer H. “We didn’t want to build one huge building there, so we decided to create four smaller

volumes. The separate structures allow for free access through the grounds,’’ he added.

Its outdoor facilities continue the building’s overall design concept past the edges of the plot. The planned incorporation of commerce, residence, and offices enables a flexible pattern of use that also integrates itself conceptually into the surroundings.

While working with J.MAYER.H Architects (JMH) for the exhibition Level Green at Autostadt Wolfsburg, lighting design practice lichttransfer was asked to support the architects with its scheme for Sonnenhof as well. In particular the exterior lighting with some consultancy

for special parts of the interior, such as the staircase, office and lobby lighting, using iGuzzini iN60 light lines in varying lengths.

Katrin Söncksen, founder of lichttransfer commented: “It has been very challenging for us to complete the lighting design for this project because, on the one hand, the outdoor place is a pathway for the public and, on the other hand, it is a kind of private space for the occupants of the buildings. But we have been lucky to work with such a great architect and for a sensitive client. Only this close collaboration made the detailed lighting design and the development of all the custom-made luminaires possible.’’

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Top Six polygonal light columns from Lichtbau, using Xicato LED modules, provide a soft direct light through a semi-frosted light field; Inground light lines from Lichtbau, using LED-Linear Phobos LEDs, provide a diffuse light for the walkways into the courtyard; and Lichtbau light lines, using Osram LEDs, illuminate the shops windows for a pleasant appearance at nightfall. Bottom The stairs, ramps and space around the benches is illuminated by diffuse linear light lines from Lichbau, using Osram LEDs, recessed in balustrades.

The design for the exterior lighting seeks to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere. “We wanted to provide an adequate luminance level for security reasons as well as a pleasant and almost private atmosphere for the residents,’’ Söncksen explained.

This atmosphere wasn’t created through the use of regular streetlights as the buildings’ slanted walls made it difficult to place them between the buildings and aesthetically, typical streetlight styles wouldn’t have suited the architectural design. This made it even more important for lichttransfer to analyse the different zones of the outdoor space and to reconsider the various

special requirements. As a result of this, the lighting design scheme consists of the following separate components, aiming at creating a consistent impression: • Illumination of the shop windows for a pleasant and light appearance at night (no black glass panels) by linear light lines recessed within the reveal.

• Illumination of the entrances by diffuse linear light, recessed in the ceiling.

• Illumination of the pathways by diffuse linear light, recessed in the ground.

• Illumination of the stairs, ramps and space around the benches by diffuse linear light, recessed in balustrades and benches.

•

Illumination of the ramp by linear light, recessed in the hand rail.

• Polygonal light columns with semifrosted light fields for a soft direct light.

Starting from the footprint, the design of the light columns is firmly rooted in the architectural design of the buildings and the use of polygonal fields on the ground.

In summary, a diffuse linear light, used in various mounting situations, is complemented by six free-standing polygonal columns.

The small courtyard between the four buildings is situated on private ground and could have been inaccessible to the

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project / SONNENHOF, JENA, GERMANY

public, but the city of Jena insisted on a public passage, so lichttransfer had to plan according to particular regulations. “We had to provide a certain luminance intensity for the pathway but, at the same time, we aimed at a comfortable atmosphere for the occupants of the buildings,’’ said Söncksen.

The result is a fully integrated lighting concept, fitting perfectly with the architecture of the buildings and the exterior design, no luminaires on the facades, no dark entrances and no dark shop windows at night, no use of a heterogeneous variety of luminaires and no use of luminaires featuring a high luminous spot.

Söncksen continued: “When we started working on this project (summer 2009), LED-lighting was still in it’s infancy. But being aware of the promises and the rapid development of LEDs, we developed light fixtures which would work with both fluorescent lamps and LEDs. In 2012 we decided to switch from fluorescent lamps to LEDs.’’ As a result of the challenging brief, lichttransfer had to develop custom-made luminaires to fit the project’s needs. Using mock-ups, the practice rigorously tested the light sources, refining the design of the luminaires. When switching from fluorescent lamps to LEDs, lichttransfer tested LEDs

Focal parts of the interior, such as the staircase, office and lobby are illuminated using iGuzzini iN60 light lines in varying lengths equalling 120 pieces / approximately 320m.

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Top Custom made inground light lines from Lichtbau use LED-Linear Phobos LEDs to provide a gentle diffuse light on the slanted walls upon entering the courtyard, while bespoke polygonal columns reflect the architectural design of the buildings and the usage of polygonal fields in the ground. Bottom illumination of the ramp is provided by linear lights from Lichtbau, using Osram LEDs, recessed in the hand rail.

from several manufacturers before selecting products from Xicato, LED-Linear and Osram to suit the situation.

By switching, the practice was able to reduce the overall input by approximately 30%.

In response to the challenges faced during the project from scheme to completion, Söncksen commented: “Due to the construction of the ground of the courtyard, we had to design the in-ground light lines noticeably smaller than those used in the balustrades and underneath the benches.

We would have prefered to use the same width everywhere.’’

Lichttransfer has approached Sonnenhof from an interesting angle, paying close attention to the incorporation of JMH's angular and abstract architectural scheme into both the internal and external lighting fixtures. The result is an interactive space, highlighted by bespoke luminaires that allow the buildings’ design to flow seamlessly into the project’s external communal areas. www.lichttransfer.de www.jmayerh.de

Project Details Sonnenhof, Jena, Germany Client: Wohnungsgenossenschaft "Carl Zeiss" eG Architect: J.MAYER.H Architects Lighting Design: lichttransfer büro für lichtplanung

lighting specified iGuzzini iN60 light lines Custom made light fixtures: Lichtbau: 6 polygonal light columns, using Xicato LED-Module Lichtbau: 4 inground light lines (4m up to 6m), using LEDLinear Phobos-LED Lichtbau: 22m diffuse light lines for stairs, using Osram LED Lichtbau: 12m hand-rail lighting, using Osram LED Lichtbau: 4 light lines for benches, using Osram LED Lichtbau: 65m light lines for shop windows, using Osram LED

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project / Embassy Boulevard, Bangalore

Pic: Kapill Kamra

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AN ENTICING LAIR Andy Fisher Workshop and dpa lighting consultants London converge their prowess on the northern brink of Bangalore to create not just an exquisite show villa but an alluring snare at the Embassy Boulevard.

For those who seek solace from the hustle of a busy metropolis, yet are unable to dislocate themselves from the hysteria of a cardinal city, the opportunities today are endless. Embassy Boulevard is one such development located on the northern fringes of Bangalore. The 51 acre exclusive private community dotted with 170 luxurious villas is designed by Andy Fisher Workshop based in Singapore. Breathing an enduring life into the meticulously crafted masterplan, dpa lighting consultants, London extend their paintbrush into the interiors, façade and landscape lighting of three affluent show villas.

Turning off the main highway, a large gateway acts as a portal to the site signifying a critical transition from the tumult of the outside world to the quietude of tree lined avenues flanking

verdant expanses. Careful application of a considered hierarchy of the lighting helps to visually identify primary, secondary and tertiary streets, as well as highlight focal points and nodes that aid in the orientation of residents and visitors alike.

Well defined precincts play host to varied sized villas, an impressive clubhouse and a series of recreational parks. The architects employ a conscious design language that binds the visual perception of the myriad elements, especially the three villa types, regardless of their size. Imparting similar qualities to each abode, the intent is to allow the differences in size and internal spaces to dictate variety in the streetscape and outside community. Working with the temperate climate of Bangalore facilitates the team at AFW to open facades, bring in natural light and absolve boundaries

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project / Embassy Boulevard, Bangalore

Pic: Kapill Kamra

between the interior and exterior volumes.

The largest of the villas is Type 3; a 7,300 sq.ft. house that comprises 5 bedrooms over 3 storeys, with sprawling lawns and a private pool, to give its residents the perfectly balanced experience of a home. Creating a show flat for the Type 3 villa, the architects established design precedents, while the lighting consultants experimented with a blank canvas to transcribe the avant garde design language into a spatial experience through the illumination of the house.

The structure is composed of a series of interconnecting vertical volumes that are tied together with horizontal elements.

5’ tall stone and timber screens veil private spaces from the public eye on the lower floor while controlling an influx of direct sunlight. Addressing concerns of privacy, solar glare and solar gains, while advocating an abundance of natural light, a system of aluminium screens is designed to wrap the upper parts of the villa shielding private living spaces within. The metal slats extend themselves beyond mere brise soleil to integrate into the architectural language and characterize the built form.

At night, the striations are emphasised with a continuously mounted narrow beam linear luminaire that grazes the

Courtesy dpa lighting consultants London

structure. Thus, illuminating the perimeter and threshold of the property, giving the illusion of a glowing lantern. Capped with large overhanging roofs that are edged with stone, the structure is proportioned in a careful geometry. While the deep eaves cut off spill light at night, they offer shade from direct sunlight in the day to the rooms that are sheathed in interminable glazing on the top floors.

Stepping into the house, the ambience is kept warm and welcoming. Architectural features, textures and materials are highlighted using accent lighting techniques.

While certain wall surfaces are grazed with concealed linear luminaires, they are used in other locations to backlight sheer curtains, rendering the space in an ethereal radiance. Artwork displayed on walls, as well as prudently placed sculptures are

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Pics: Embassy Group

accentuated with low glare, deep recessed adjustable downlights. Spotlights over tables and design elements create pools of light, drawing the eye towards points of focus. A curated collection of decorative chandeliers along with table and floor lamps add to the familiarity of amenity.

Installing lighting control systems facilitates easy transition between programmed lighting scenes at a touch of a button.

These settings are designed to cater to variegated moods and ambiences, addressing myriad combinations of brightness and intensity of light.

Stepping out onto the pool deck, the entire villa is reflected in the water body, which mirrors not only the illuminated façade, but also the artistically lit topiary. The private garden is designed to offer a space for repose and relaxation. Key elements such as trees and feature walls are illuminated, revealing a plethora of forms and textures; and creating layers of light that aid a strong visual hierarchy of perception.

While the architects restrict themselves to a splendid but circumspect palette of elements and materials, cavorting with compositions, consistency, and scale, the lighting designers cast a magical spell over the house, transforming it and metamorphosing its character from day to night. The show villa stands as an idyllic enthralling figure that dexterously seduces the vulnerable buyer into its lair. www.dpalighting.com www.afworkshop.com

PROJECT DETAILS Embassy Boulevard, Bangalore, India Client: Embassy Group, Bangalore, India Architect: Andy Fisher Workshop Project Manager / Construction Manager: Synergy Property Development Services, Bangalore, India Lighting Consultant: dpa lighting consultants London Lighting Product Supplier: Lighting Solutions Integrated (LSI), New Delhi

LIGHTING SPECIFIED Iguzzini: Woody Outdoor Flood Light Iguzzini: Iroll Outdoor Wall mounted Iguzzini: Linealuce Outdoor Floor-recessed LED Wall grazer Iguzzini: Pinhole Indoor Downlight Iguzzini: Deep Frame Indoor Downlight Iguzzini: Pencil Bollard ACDC: Iglu Floor-recessed Linear LED Wallwasher Aldabra: Arrakis Step Light Deltalight: Boxy Outdoor Downlight Hunza: High Power in-ground Uplight KKDC: TIMI Linear Profile Lumascape: Vedita Underwater LED

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project / The Noodle Rack, Changsha

Pics: Courtesy of Peter Dixie for LOTAN Architectural Photography

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Rack to the Future On a mission to modernise the traditional Chinese noodle restaurant, Lukstudio has combined tradition and originality to create a contemporary design for the interior and exterior of Changsha’s The Noodle Rack, including its bespoke centrepiece and namesake.

Noodle soup is a common street food all over China. While most of these noodle eateries spend tremendous effort to win customers over with taste, some have started to add attractive store design to their branding recipe. A good example is LongXiaoBao, a newcomer which set foot in Changsha with an ambition to spread the local ShaoYang style rice noodle to the rest of China. Commissioned to conceive a contemporary identity for its first restaurant, Lukstudio integrated the tradition of noodle making into the spatial design by reinterpreting a noodle rack.

Nestled along an outdoor shopping

promenade nearby the Xiangjiang River, the 50sqm noodle restaurant exudes a calm yet mysterious presence with its bamboo-cast concrete storefront. Two rustic steel boxes penetrate through the solemn exterior: the taller one cladded with rusted steel panels and its shorter neighbour built like a metal scaffold. These three elements together orchestrate a journey of discovery, illuminated by Tons exterior strip lights and ODL-003P in-ground luminaires.

Walking past the entry box, customers are greeted by a composed counter design lined with the bamboo mold used for casting the exteriors.

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project / The Noodle Rack, Changsha

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Facing page Morning bamboo table lamps from Sozen provide a gentle contrast with the interior’s rustic concrete walls. Bottom The restaurant’s bamboo-cast concrete storefront is washed with a warm glow by Tons exterior LED strip lights and ODL-003P in-ground luminaires.

Continuining on towards the halo surrounding the grid structure, the interior layers start to reveal themselves. Firstly, the original wall has been stripped down to its structural blocks to resonate with the rustic metal grid; secondly, wooden boxes have been carefully placed within the rack to showcase selected porcelains, illuminated by Tons DA-501AD display case luminaires. Finally, a series of metal wires are draped across the dining room to create the focal lighting feature created by 85 custom-made pendants. Included in each luminaire’s design, the bespoke metal casing was made to hide the upper plastic part of the LED dimmable lamps.

These lamps were ordered directly from the factory by the contractor according to the specifications in size, wattage (7W), and 2,700K colour temperature. Balancing the rustic interiors, these reflective strands create a poetic notion of dining under a noodle rack.

Additional decorative elements include jiu wall lamps from Bentu, used to create atmosphere at the restaurant’s counter and Morning bamboo table lamps from Sozen, providing warmth in the concrete space.

Playing with the duality between rustic and refined, eastern tradition and western representation, Lukstudio has introduced a crossover between fast food

chain and upscale diner. The Noodle Rack differentiates itself from the stigma of kitsch fast food ‘hole in the wall’ available on every street of China. It demonstrates how Chinese eateries have the potential to be reborn into hip gathering spots comparable to the new trend of cafés. www.lukstudiodesign.com

Project Details The Noodle Rack, Changsha, China Client: LongXiaoBao Architects: Lukstudio Design Team: Christina Luk, Alba Beroiz Blazquez, Cai Jin Hong, Pao Yee Lim Lighting Suppliers: Tons, Bentu, Sozen

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project / Auriga Restaurant and Nightclub, Mumbai

STRIATED ABStRACTIONS Sanjay Puri Architects create a stimulating experience of sculptural forms bathed in a motley composition of glamour and charisma, at the hip Auriga Restaurant in Mumbai.

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Pics: Vinesh Gandhi

Seldom does one consider the byproducts of an essential process, or the remnants of a fascinating adventure. However, Sanjay Puri Architects take the idea of ‘turning scraps to treasure’ to a whole new level as they assemble the Auriga restaurant and nightclub in the chic Famous Studio lane of Mahalaxmi in Mumbai.

Ablaze in the most spectacular hues of gold and turquoise, one can easily spot Auriga from a distance. The striated façade composed in precarious facets of a complex system of angular surfaces commands a considered attention. As one encounters

the building at closer quarters, the remarkable layers of planes, spliced with sharp ridges that dip into accurate valleys stop you in your tracks to embrace this extraordinary moment.

Looking at the building face, not once does it strike that the façade is composed of miscellanies of air conditioning ducts.

Remains of the ducting process that eventually find their way to the junkyard have been upcycled to fascinating building material. While aluminium box sections create a beguiling façade, strips of galvanized iron plaster the interior of the

lower floor that houses a popular nightclub.

The restaurant on the upper floor is designed using otherwise discarded pieces of wood. The materials come together effortlessly to create a sculptural space that pushes the envelope of what may be perceived as a conventional dine-out experience.

What was once an old printing press is now stripped off its external walls, and enclosed in a web of aluminium fins. Facilitating an uninterrupted influx of natural light in the day, and framing views of large trees that line the road it hugs, the screened

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project / Auriga Restaurant and Nightclub, Mumbai

façade ensures privacy from the public eye.

Behind the veil sits cozily an outdoor patio, bathed in dappling sunlight during the day, and the warmth of illuminated furniture at night. Granite benches juxtaposed with onyx tables lit from within, create dramatic contrast of dark and light.

Walking through the faceted entryway, the striated external skin extends inside to sheath the walls, ceiling, staircase, columns and bar in a conundrum of silvery grey metal. The slatted backlit panels fold from vertical to horizontal planes in a vibrant play of saturated hues. RGB LED strips in wide-angle beams wash the ceiling in myriad shades of blues, greens, purples and pinks, catering to variegated moods and ambience requirements. The highly textured surfaces are highlighted as the iron strip cladding catches and reflects light in a plethora of varied angles.

The columns are guarded by a series of four ground recessed LED uplighters that graze the metallic surface and accentuate the verticality of the space. While the volume is filled with sharp colour tones and a striking composition of linear design elements, certain moments are emphasized in a stark contrast. Strategically mounted spotlights on the ceiling are focused on the bar seating area, providing soft pools of warm illumination. Inviting the customer to indulge in their poison of choice, the

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bar counter stands gallantly glowing from within. Fitted with an array of colour changing LED strips, it seems to breathe a life of its own.

Controlled through DMX computing, the entire section can be programed in the choicest colours, shades and tones, to invigorate, enliven and even send its audience into an astounding trance.

Flanked on one side with black mirror paneling that runs from floor to ceiling, the ludicrous match of colour changing metallic interiors sitting in a backdrop of flamed dark grey granite flooring, is multiplied in a tizzy of illusions.

Embracing the mirror panels, a staircase leads up into the restaurant space, replacing the adrenaline rush with a calm sophistication. The eatery is rendered in a monochromatic ambience of quieter sense, but drowned in an intricacy of fine details. Shrouded in an undulating blanket of strips of natural wood, the space is filled with a soft ambient glow. While the surface texture is accentuated with floorrecessed uplights on the periphery, ceiling mounted LED spotlights that are housed in comfortable cut outs in the wooden paneling provide gentle beams of focused light over individual tables. The restaurant is enclosed in a fluid volume of natural browns and warm greys, peppered with sparkling silver and crystal, which creates

the perfect intimate atmosphere for the fine dining experience that it offers.

The vibrancy of saturated colour gives way to tonalities of achromatic hues to punctuate the handsome volume. While the two spaces stand in complete disparateness, one governed by cold steel and the other by warm wood to cater to different experiences, they are unified in their linear design vocabulary and abstracted geometries of angular surfaces that render Auriga as a scintillating sculptural form. www.sanjaypuriarchitects.com

PROJECT DETAILS Auriga Restaurant and Nightclub, Mumbai Client: Auriga Restaurants Architects: Sanjay Puri Architects Project Team: Sanjay Puri and Madhavi Belsare

LIGHTING SPECIFIED World-Dawn Lighting Company: LED Strip Lights Nationstar: RGB Up-Lighters, Façade LED Lights Lustrous: Warm White LED Up-Lighters Lighting Supplier: Silver Shield Energy Lighting Pvt. Ltd.

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project / MAGGIE'S CENTRE, LANARKSHIRE, UK

Right The centre's artificial light is complemented by a reflected diffuse light off the golden inner surfaces of the courtyard light catchers, while direct daylight casts a shadow of the unique perforation patterning. Top Daylight studies conducted by Speirs + Major show the dynamism of natural light and how it interacts with Maggie's architectural design.

ABOVE US ONLY SKY Carrie Donahue Bremner, Design Associate at Speirs + Major, talks to mondo*arc about the dynamism of daylight and its impact on space and environment at Reiach and Hall's Maggie's Centre, Lanarkshire.

Speirs + Major was ideally placed to collaborate with architects Reiach and Hall (R+H) on the design of the lighting for the eleventh Maggie’s, located in Lanarkshire, Scotland, having previously worked on the Stirling Prize winning Maggie’s Centre at Charing Cross by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and the Maggie’s Centre in Newcastle by Edward Cullinan Architects.

The building is a long low brick pavilion positioned within a walled garden. It is designed to connect with its surroundings, offering a progression of landscape, texture and light from the entrance path to arrival court, through the sequence of interior spaces and courtyards to the far end walled garden.

Due to the relatively low height of the construction, the daylighting design became one of the key design challenges. The communal courtyards offered a relaxing space to connect with the sky but lacked a direct connection to light.

Carrie Donahue Bremner, Design Associate at Speirs + Major told mondo*arc: “Jonathan (Speirs) originally worked with Neil Gillespie from R+H on the conceptual architectural plan. They discussed the courtyard gardens that bring natural daylight into the centre of the building and considered how this could be reinforced.

While these courtyards did allow for some degree of natural light penetration, for this to be properly felt, they realised that the light needed to be made more visible and they needed to find a way to bounce more light deeper into the space.

“Following these discussions, we proposed the idea of a centrally positioned object that would sit within the courtyards and provide surfaces for light to land on and be seen. We knew that the design of the object would have the potential to not only receive light, but to reflect it and allow it to penetrate through. This would bring the scenery deeper into the

spaces, and provide a focal point, as well as creating dynamic shadow play.

To bring the idea into being, we studied the daylight patterning that would occur, focusing in particular on the effect of the diffuse light, as this can be interpreted by surfaces in many different ways. We were able to confirm that four different kinds of light would occur: direct, patterned direct, reflected and diffuse, depending on the time of year and day, rotating throughout the space.’’

Donahue Bremner further explained: “R+H constructed some small mock ups of the structure and how the feature would sit proportionally within the gardens. Having analysed size, proportion and levels of penetration, we evolved the idea into the elegant, highly polished and perforated gold structures that have come to be known as ‘geode light catchers.”

Originally, there were four light catchers in the four courtyards, however due to cost

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Pics: Dave Morris

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project / MAGGIE'S CENTRE, LANARKSHIRE, UK

the number had to be reduced to two in the central courtyards.

“Having just the two in the central courtyards ultimately worked well within the building and strengthened their impact as they are positioned along the main axis of living and movement. This allowed the two peripheral softscape gardens to be a little quieter and more peaceful,’’ said Donahue Bremner.

Although the inner gardens do not have a direct relationship with the boundary brick wall, it is the specialist pattern from this wall that is referenced in the texture of the light catchers. The height, materiality, and reflectivity were also key considerations.

The outer surface is finished in a matte effect designed specifically to complement the highly polished interior surface. This matte texture allows diffuse light to scatter across it, creating a glow which is visible from a distance. The polished gold stainless steel interior supplements this glow with

dynamic interreflections of direct daylight that bounce in between the faces and escape through its perforations.

The effect on the corridor spaces adjacent to the courtyards is both dynamic and beautiful. On any given day, the spaces appear brighter and warmer thanks to the golden diffuse light bouncing into the space. On a clear-sky day, the cooler crisper direct daylight passing through the perforations creates dynamic patterns, which layer over the diffuse golden light to truly spectacular effect.

Speirs + Major were also responsible for all of the building’s artificial lighting. Given the purpose of the space as a support centre for the family and friends of those diagnosed with cancer, the lighting needed to have enough flexibility to cope with multiple tasks, as well as supporting a domestic level of comfort.

In response to the architectural intent, the lighting marks the progression through the

The pavilion's centralised courtyards sit perfectly in the main axis of living at Maggie's, providing an area for visitors to connect with the outdoors and enjoy the reflected views of trees and sky.

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Extending the view of the trees and the garden by reflecting it in the interior surface of the light catchers was also part of it. Seeing the structure, the outer surface of the structure, the inner surface of the structure and pulling the sky deeper into the space.

building, focusing on highlighting the major interventions. Light is integrated so that it frames vistas, drawing visitors into and through the building, while reinforcing the connection between inside and outside.

Warm light washes the timber surfaces to bring out their inherent warmth, while a second layer of domestic furniture pieces contributes to a homely atmosphere.

The space is used flexibly from day-to-day so a lighting control system was put in place, meaning luminaires could be altered to suit.

The additional daylight from the Lightcatchers allow the artificial lighting to be reduced at certain times of the day, improving the overall energy efficiency.

Maggie's Centre Lanarkshire is a perfect example of how a well-considered approach to designing with natural light can invigorate an architectural scheme. www.speirsandmajor.com

Project Details Maggie's Centre, Lanarkshire, UK Client: Maggie's Centres Architect: Reiach and Hall Architects Lighting Design: Speirs + Major

lighting specified Exterior Lighting: iGuzzini iTeka, MiniWoody Wevre & Ducre Palluz KKDC MiMi Handrail Interior Lighting: Mike Stoane Lighting custom designed luminaire with Xicato remote phosphor LED Mike Stoane Lighting Reed Light, interior garden courtyards Pinch and Norm decorative pendants PJR Engineering T5 linear fluorescent, back of house areas

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project / AKA Beverly Hills, California, USA

EVOKED BY LIGHT Boutique hotel AKA Beverly Hills gets a facelift by Koning Eizenberg Architects, while Oculus Light Studio uses dynamic illumination to create magic on the exterior façade, aggrandize the interiors and carve a quaint niche in the heart of Beverly Hills.

Pic: Eric Staudenmaier

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project / AKA Beverly Hills, California, USA

Pic: Eric Staudenmaier

AKA Hotel is accessibly located off Wilshire Boulevard on North Crescent Drive in the heart of Beverly Hills. What used to be an apartment building was renovated to an extended stay luxury hotel, crafting a fine balance between the exuberance of hotel living and the comfort of intimate residential condominiums. Founded by Larry Korman, AKA relies on the idea that, “when you are away from home, you should feel welcome and supported, without compromise in luxury, comfort or space.”

Having lived in a house designed by the illustrious architect Louis I. Kahn, Korman derived his design approach from the

master’s minimalism and intrinsic play of light and structure. Realising that was amiss from the existing site conditions, it became a collective task for the team to inject the hotel with light in order to address concerns such as low ceiling heights, a street facing parking garage and an overgrown terrace.

Local architecture firm Koning Eizenberg was hired for overhauling the façade and refurbishing the public spaces, while Oculus Light Studio breathed life into the hotel through their creative lighting solutions. As Kahn famously said “We are born of light.

The seasons are felt through light. We only know the world as it is evoked by light.”

The lighting brief featured two major challenges. The first was to create a unique visual impression both from the street as well as from within the hotel. The second was to address compatibility with existing building conditions and city requirements for glare and visual noise.

The original apartment structure plastered in yellow ochre and dressed in red textured tiles, stood out-dated in the premium locality of Beverly Hills. While a parking garage occupied the main façade studded with a series of unsightly windows, the building appeared stunted owing to a compressed porte-cochere and entrance Pic: Scott Hatton

Pic: Eric Staudenmaier

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Pic: Eric Staudenmaier

lobby. The proposed design called for creating a more powerful street presence that would be elegant and unique, without disturbing residential neighbours.

The architects designed a dimensional high strength concrete screen placed in front of the garage to block direct view of the space within, and at the same time create an interesting design statement.

The screen was left open from the top and bottom and set at a considerable distance from the original façade to facilitate adequate ventilation of the space behind.

Working in close conjunction with Koning Eizenberg, Oculus Light Studio developed a custom installation of LED linear fixtures that wash acrylic panels located in front of the garage windows, creating a moiré effect across the consistently illuminated surface behind the screen. Providing dimming options on all three floors of the structure, the overall light levels can be adjusted to the desired brightness.

Sitting atop the screen is a delicate trellis that hovers above the terrace. Mimicking a star spangled sky, the latticed structure sparkles with a pattern of small profile LEDs. Mounted to the slender cross beams that span the length of the terrace, the LED light strings are oriented to face the building, minimizing glare for the neighbours across the street, yet being distinctly visible from the driveway and the upper patio. The pergola, when viewed from the elevated deck, highlights a

splendid water feature and a collection of green planters that sit center stage, while offering direct vantage points to the famed Hollywood sign in the distance.

Forming the perfect backdrop for the busy front is an austere central tower grazed in a gentle wash of warmth from below.

Lending the perception of a keystone to the elevation, the architectural element that protrudes above the roofline helps lengthen the structure and scale the volume for the onlooker, marking its presence with a sense of regality.

Flanking the open terrace on either side is a set of tall stoic walls planted with vertical gardens. Strategically placed Times Square pattern projectors wash the foliage on the opposite wall in dappled light. Squeezed between the walls and sitting below the concrete screen is what once was a darkened and confined entryway into the building. With height restrictions dictated by city bylaws, considerably lowered ceilings cap the porte-cochere and main lobby rendering the space compressed.

Therefore, the design intervention aimed to highlight its verticality and visually expand the existing volume by filling it with light.

The porch is held up with a central column, which is circled by a series of recessed downlights washing its curvaceous form.

While one end of the space is illuminated using a grid of recessed spots, the ceiling at the entrance is dotted with Circular Coves

by Flos, shallow round luminaires integrated

with LED light sources. Emanating a gentle glow, the fixtures mimic skylights giving the illusion of natural light filling the void.

The porch extends into the lobby through a set of glass doors as the ceiling continues seamlessly without break. Peppered across the lobby ceiling, the Circular Coves create a sense of height and spaciousness.

The peripheral walls of the lobby are lined with a ceiling slot, which graze the Venetian plastered vertical surfaces in an elegant uniformity, creating visual space. The far end is pinned with a marbled wall, similarly grazed from above that forms a luxurious backdrop for the otherwise understated reception table. A bank of ceiling recessed downlights highlights the passages, accentuates artworks and provides emergency illumination.

The carefully selected palette of colours, finishes and light renderings is also carried through to other public areas of the hotel, using LED luminaires and a variety of decorative fixtures. A series of slim-profile surface mounted LED strip-lights contributes to the clean look of the gym. The highly functional yet compact luminaires provide adequate levels of illumination without compromising on height in the already lowered space. On the other hand, the more exclusive areas of the hotel are accessorised with decorative light fittings.

The conference room is rendered in a warm uniform glow by suspending a collection of large white Smithfields by Flos.

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project / AKA Beverly Hills, California, USA

Pic: Eric Staudenmaier

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Pic: Eric Staudenmaier

The existing dimming system was repurposed to cater to the newly employed LED technology and accommodate various LED dimming load types. Albeit a long drawn process involving much coordination and care, it proved to be considerably efficient and cost saving. The project is well below California’s stringent Title 24 energy code, with 0.74 watts of installed lighting per square foot (7.96w/SM).

The AKA Hotel stands proud as a design destination in the heart of Hollywood.

Addressing numerable concerns with dark and dingy spaces, the retrofit left them renewed, spacious and welcoming. The lighting scheme offered interesting solutions for new technology to be integrated within the original structure, and changed not only the visual perception of the hotel but also its spatial experience, giving it a new lease of life. The exemplar work of artificial light in this project has already won an IALD International Lighting Design Award of Merit and two IESNA International Illumination Design Awards. www.oculuslightstudio.com www.kearch.com

PROJECT DETAILS AKA Beverly Hills, California, USA Client: Larry Korman, Korman Communities Architects: Koning Eizenberg Architecture Lighting Design: Oculus Light Studio

LIGHTING SPECIFIED

Pic: Eric Staudenmaier

Acclaim Lighting: DynaCove Exterior HO Tokistar: Trellis FL Lighting String LED Flos: Circular Coves, Soft Architecture USO Cove Lighting Flos: Smithfield S Indy: Silent Ceiling-Performance Series, 4” LED Downlight Times Square: Goboclip Pure Lighting: Wall Grazer Stratus LED Linear Wall Grazer Lutron: Phase-adaptive power module, GRX-TVI 0-10V Interface, Grafik Eye 4000 system (retrofitted)

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project / SOLO SOKOS HOTEL TORNI, TAMPERE, FINLAND

Pics: Juhana Konttinen unless otherwise stated

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INTO THE DARK Having won this year's Finnish Lighting Award, the façade lighting of Solo Sokos Hotel Torni in Tampere, shines brightly among the winter darkness, reflecting the dynamic urban atmosphere that surrounds it.

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project / SOLO SOKOS HOTEL TORNI, TAMPERE, FINLAND

The upper part of the new building tower was taken from the architecture as the building is characterised by the rhythm of steel elements.

The same rhythm was repeated with the media panels placed around the building at its top.

With just a few hours of daylight a day during the winter months in Scandinavia and Finland, artificial lighting has an extremely important role to play in the mental state of its inhabitants. With this in mind, when illuminating the façade of the Solo Sokos Hotel Torni Tampere, the expectations on the lighting design were high.

While the hotel’s commercial operator Sokotel initially wanted the building to look as though it had just been transported from Las Vegas or Times Square, the city architects were hesitant; lighting a tower hotel to such a level would significantly effect the cityscape and the image of the city during dark periods and so the task was to find a lighting solution for both.

It was decided that the lighting should, in a modern and harmonic way make the hotel building come alive while brightening the city’s image at the same time. It had to fit in with citizens’ everyday life yet reflect the dynamic and urban atmosphere of the city. While Finland is mainly a country of low urban architecture, in contrast the hotel is a significant landmark in the City of Tampere. Found on the former train depot, it can be seen from any point in the city and in turn modifies the cityscape seen from almost every street view.

The hotel consists of two parts. The restaurant and congress premises are located in the lower part - historically valuable old locomotive stables, with the building representing traditional red brick architecture typical for Tampere region. A new tower building as a contrary,

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Pic: Joonas Tähtinen

Found on the former train depot, the hotel can be seen from any point in the city and modifies the cityscape of Tampere significantly.

represents modern high-glass Finnish architecture. The old building has been highlighted in a very traditional and simple way. The lighting for the hotel yard was designed to be detailed. The main idea was to open views to the interior spaces and also leave room for dramatic darkness.

For the tower section many alternatives were considered. It had to combine architecture, cityscape and commercial viewpoints. The solution was to highlight the architectural facet in a sophisticated way by giving a little bit of liveliness and delicate change to the tones of the lighting used.

The idea behind the upper part of the tower was taken from the architecture, as the building is characterised by the rhythm of steel elements. This same rhythm was repeated with the media panels placed around the building at its top. The media facade has 360º of visibility and as such has become a dynamic, yet harmonic part of the cityscape.

As the lighting design process advanced, it led to the creation of light art Signal, bringing the media façade and architectural facet lighting together.

Despite media panels being separate from each other they still work together coherently, with the design idea to show only abstract movement of light on the media surface. While the steel elements reflect the sunlight in various cardinals in dark periods, the media surface aims to reflect natural light and everyday life, changing according to the day of the week, whether it is night or day, depending on the seasons, festivals and national holidays.

This award-winning project is an example of how modern technology can be applied as part of the city's architecture and scenery. The media façade draws the urban landscape in harmoniously, standing as a signal to the surrounding areas and enlivening the cityscape. In dark periods, every hour, the flammable light show

spices things up in the city.

The building has become a unique and famous attraction in the country, with many tourists, construction professionals and architects making excursions to see this rewarded installation. The hotel has also become a popular destination for weekend travellers and a good reason to get to know Tampere, the largest inland city in Scandinavia – tourism in winter has particularly been boosted thanks to the addition of the hotel, which is consistently booked up. www.valoa.com

Project Details Solo Sokos Hotel, Torni Tampere, Finland Client: Sokotel Architect: Arkkitehtitoimisto Seppo Valjus Municipality Architect: Eija Muttonen-Mattila Lighting Design: VALOA design Electrical Engineers: Aurecon Group Lighting Suppliers: traxon & e:cue

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project / Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, Delhi

Pics: Gagan Jit

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PUZZLING GEOMETRIES Construing the parameters of Achal Kataria Architects’ Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, Hirsch Bednar Associates work in close proximity with Illuminate Lighting Design to animate the large hotel complex in an exhilaration of design, detail and discernment.

Inaugurated as the Kempinski Hotel on the eastern shores of Delhi, the coupled towers clad in a fascinating puzzle of illuminated geometries today stand as the Leela Ambience Convention Hotel. While the architectural language conceived by Achal Kataria Architects follows the symmetry of rectilinear elements, the interiors designed

by Hirsch Bednar Associates revolve around a contemporary schematic that borrows from the local culture. Concurrently, lighting consultants Illuminate Lighting Design help reinterpret the design intent to inject a soul and encompass elegance into the 1 million sq.ft. project.

The two towers house 480-rooms and a multitude of lobbies, bars, restaurants, executive lounges and convention venues.

Connected at intermediate levels, walkways on the ground, third and terrace floors brace the buildings and facilitate an expedient flow of function. Bathed in luxurious modishness that is appeased by an inviting comfort, the main lobby is warm and welcoming. With a considerable amount of daylight filtering through the open façade, the interior space is complimented with a restricted use of artificial light in the day. The volume is filled with a soft ambient glow that lengthens the space and

lifts the ceiling lines; all the while layered with strong punches of downlights that either form focused pools on the floor or accentuate seating areas, artworks and other fascinating elements of the décor.

The ambience is established and altered as per the time of day and / or special requirements. While the infiltration of natural light renders the lobby in fresh and agile tones, the lighting scheme changes the experience to cater to varying moods at night.

Other public areas are also painted with a conscious stroke of illumination that highlight their function and add to their

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project / Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, Delhi

spatial experience. While the All Day Dining restaurant is casual, the lighting scheme follows a relaxed and cursory path. With a series of downlights plugged into the striated ceiling detail, the ambience is bright and hospitable. Spotlights focused on the tables and important nodes such as the buffet and service points create a series of accents in the space.

On the other hand, the Cherry bar is a more intimate space, exploiting high contrast zones. Sharp narrow beam downlights form distinct pools of illumination on the tables, keeping the seating in shade. The bar is washed with directional spotlights that highlight the feature wall behind it, while the sidewalls are grazed to accentuate their highly textured finish.

The executive lounge sits in a comfortable sophistication, bathed in a monochromaticity of warm light. Tracing a geometric pattern on the ceiling, illuminated coves highlight the linearity that flows through the space. Emerging from within the ceiling slits is a series of intricately carved vertical screens that

stand in contrast to the solid horizontal planes. Washed from above, the sculpted form catches light in a manner that traces each detail in precise outlines.

Moving into the spa area, the ambience is transformed into a delicate fantasy.

Walking through the darkened passage, light is translated into a string of beacons that transgress from the empirical to the ethereal, leading into the depths of relaxation.

The 26,000 sq.ft. convention center, for which the hotel has garnered much fame is another pertinent example of how lighting is utilized to define spaces, moods and functions. Catering to a plethora of activities and requirements, the space demands efficiency in variety. Fitted with coloured lighting schemes, sculpted ceilings, backlit stonewalls and decorative wall sconces, the colossal enclosure offers immense flexibility in its spatial and visual compositions, without having to make dramatic physical changes to the space.

With automated light scenes preset for most public areas, the transition from

one emotional quality to another is rather seamless and facile. While the lobbies are kept generally brighter, the dining areas vary from natural mornings to vivid afternoons to characteristic evenings.

Similar automation of lighting schemes is also stipulated for the other areas of the hotel. Corridors and lift lobbies are equipped with preset scenes controlled by the hotel staff, while guestrooms use a Remote Control Unit giving a switching arrangement in the standard rooms and scene settings within the suite rooms.

Flooded with abundant daylight that beams through the large glazed wall of each guestroom, the space is muted into a gentle silence after dark. Layers of coves in the ceiling wash the volume from above, while a careful selection of table lamps and floor lamps add an intimate glow at eye level.

The large glazed façade that cheerfully encourages the ingress of natural light is interrupted with a geometric lattice woven across the surface in bold stone cladding. Protruding pieces of stone are

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backlit and integrated into a wholesome system mimicking the coming together of an enormous puzzle. The rigid rectilinear pattern is then carved into the landscape of the party lawn below. Floor recessed linear homogenous light lines drawn as a reflection of the façade creates a strong graphic expression that ensures optimum visual harmony. Thus, establishing the space as a nodal point that attracts and congregates guests.

A similar approach is taken to highlight key areas of the hotel interiors as well as external development. The drop off zone is flanked by a fascinating installation of a randomized pattern of light blocks with LED nodes and a glass jali front within an open-weave stonewall. The intermediate corridors that link one building to the other are landscaped and guarded by a series of carved screens that are grazed to accentuate the texture and provide just about enough light on the passage.

In line with the richness of Indian culture, which displays both strong, vivid colors and very intricate, sophisticated details,

the building is sculpted by architectural lines, which create a bold language visible from afar. Once the guest has entered the property the experience is changed to a certain coziness, warmth and sophistication. Light plays an intrinsic role in creating such an atmosphere, expected in a high-end five star property. Astutely detailed, the lighting scheme is seamlessly integrated into the architecture and interior design at every instance. There is a considered intent to conceal fixtures without compromising their effects.

Lighting becomes key in identifying and translating the aesthetics of the hotel.

Working hand in hand with HBA, the interior designers, light becomes a tool for Illuminate Lighting Design to establish the mood and impression of the space. Together they create a plethora of moments of intrigue and points of enchantment that strategically guide the visitor around the property. www.hba.com www.illuminateld.com

PROJECT DETAILS Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, Delhi Client: Ambience Group, Delhi Architect: Achal Kataria Architects, Delhi Interior Designer: Hirsch Bedner Associates, Singapore Landscape Architect: Burega Farnell, Singapore Lighting Designer: Illuminate Lighting Design

LIGHTING SPECIFIED Hoffmeister: Complx 150 downlights, HIT 35W Flos (Antares): Compass Downlights QR CBC lamp, adjustable Flos (Antares): Pure Track Spots 150W HIT Flos (Antares): Battery Fixtures QR111 RCL (Remote Control Lighting): DR2 Spotlight Wibre: Recessed underwater lights in the pool Wibre: Ground mounted Uplights XAL: Combo Round 350mm dia.

XAL: Micro Round 3x1W LED Hunza: In ground Uplights Osram: LED Strips Traxon: Monochrome Tube Lucent: Focus 90 Accent Adjustable Downlights Lucent: Focus 70 Accent Lucent: Plus Round Wall wash Trim Lucent: Pinhole 90 Accent Lucent: Focus 90 Accent IP ACDC: GIO downlights ACDC: Morpheus Lighting products supplied by: Lightalive, Mumbai; Versalite, Mumbai

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project / The Orange Extension, Bandra, Mumbai

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A NETWORK OF CHANNELING LIGHT Deriving geometries from the site and translating them into a design intervention, SHROFFLEóN designs an exciting extension to a residence to house high-end luxury cars.

Pics: Sebastian Zachariah / Photographix

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project / The Orange Extension, Bandra, Mumbai

Drawing courtesy Shroffleon

A posh locality in Western Mumbai, a 15,000 sq. ft. bungalow, and an ardent lover and collector of super luxury cars, is what SHROFFLEóN was faced with when asked to design the twin extension to a house. The brief was simple – the client needed two canopies to protect his prized possesions from the elements and an overhauling of the facilities to be modernized to include an exterior elevator core.

The sixty year old family home, spread over four floors was the context from which the architects derived their design philosophy.

Analysing and identifying significant geometries from the existing domain gave rise to a strong vocabulary for their recommended intervention. With a desire to render the proposal as sculpted objects effortlessly melting into their surrounding yet holding their weight, careful attention was given to the finest details.

Site lines, natural creases, intended edges and constructed demarcations lent the idea of rectilinear entities and linear contours to the canopies. These indicators were translated to the design in the form of grooves etched onto the material palette.

Channels of varying widths were composed to fragment the surface of the structure.

Working with Corten steel, the sheets were cut to fit the pieces of the puzzle as the outlining grooves took the role of troughs; collecting surface water and directing it towards the collection plate.

The network of water channels on the upper surface of the canopies imitates a structured system of tributaries, one flowing into the other to reach the lowered collection plate that empties into the nearby planters. The main grooves that are wider also take on an additional role of becoming illuminated pathways across the metalic surface.

Waterproof Tape LED stuck to the upper reaches of the channel, and protected by generous overhangs illuminate the tracks in precise lines, indicating the flow of water through the maze.

A similar pattern language is employed for the underbelly of the canopies. Rectilinear forms with strong unbent cues become the focus of the design agenda. While the main axes that leads to the house are highlighted by dipping the surface, the mass is accentuated with a ring of light. Clad in soft light wood, the ceiling breaks its form to accommodate the water chamber that extends the rich metallic finish from above and blankets itself in the reddened steel.

While edges of some forms are accentuated with LED strips embedded in the wooden cladding, the collection tank distinguishes itself with a series of spotlights. Punctuating the joinery across material and directing

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passage, the subtle lighting scheme creates a dramatic effect in illuminating the client’s wheeled treasures.

The linearity of the design language that is borrowed from the existing parameters, extends to other elements of the new construction as well. Horizontal cladding on the façade of the building, with stark rectangular openings punctured through the face are referenced in their order and rhythm. While a series of bollards stand guard in an uncompromising row, wrapping the edge of the building and stealthily rising onto the staircase; the other edge of the steps is preserved with a strapping balustrade.

Straddling the ascend towards the main entrance, the steel hand rail houses a series of LED strips within that reflect a warm glow onto the precise edge of the stone treads.

Climbing up, the eye is immediately drawn

to the imposing length of the external elevetor shaft, partially covered in glass with a Corten steel cladding precariously embracing its corner.

Looking back into the open driveway, reflections of the meticulous design detailing are found in the smallest moments. The upper surfaces of the two canopies come in full view, bragging their intricate network of illuminated waterways. The boundary wall is grazed with conscientiously located uplighters, and the warmth of its colour temperature is a perfect match to the glow from within the house. The selected materials and textures are a continuation of the existing palette prevailing inside; white plastered surfaces, treated random rubble basalt stone walls, ipe wood and glass. The design intervention embraces the given parameters to ensure a seamless transition

between the old and new; and manipulates the poetics of weathering steel held within the bounds of illuminated strings to create the Orange Extension. www.shroffleon.com

PROJECT DETAILS The Orange Extension, Bandra, Mumbai Architect: SHROFFLEóN Project Designers: Snigdha Agarwal, Margi Gholi, Vishanka Gandhi, Maria I J Leon, Preeti Nautiyal, Kayzad R Shroff Structural Consultants : Girish T Wadhwa

LIGHTING SPECIFIED Philips: Linea Flexible Led Strip Tape 30w 5m 4500k Philips: LED Recessed Spot Light 3x1 2700 Warm White LEDS–C4: Hecate, Linear Uplighters 58w Flou Ww LEDS–C4: Hubble, Spot Uplighters Gu10 Max 50w 24k LEDS–C4: Way, Bollards E27 Max60w 27k

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project / Paris-Gare de l'Est Hotel

Paris in Spring Design duo Zsofia Varnagy and husband Axel Schoenert of architectural agency Axel Schoenert architectes doused Paris-Gare de l'Est Hotel in a spot of spring, no matter what time of year.

Pics: Luc Boegly

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Pics: Luc Boegly

Hungarian interior designer Zsofia Varnagy and German architect Axel Schoenert of architectural agency Axel Schoenert architectes created their so-called ‘global interior concept’, the spring spirit, for its interior design scheme at the Paris-Gare de l’Est Hotel. Commissioned by the Paris Inn Group to refurbish the hotel, the pair created an interior in harmony with the architectural concept embodying spring’s energy and brightness, providing a moment of pure wellbeing all year round in the heart of Paris, France.

As specialists in hotel design, one of Axel Schoenert architectes’ goals was to enhance the previously dim lighting of the hotel.

As part of the spring spirit, every detail of design from the organic and vegetal shaped chairs to the bright pendant and floor lamps, reminds guests of the freshness and brilliance of spring, showcasing the colours specially chosen to embody this concept.

Entering through the hotel’s lobby, guests are greeted with several Soleil ceiling lights by Foscarini, used to embody spring’s energy. Small suns illuminate the hall, immediately placing visitors into a

Left Foscarini's Soleil suspension lamps in the hotel lobby, with the decorative LED butterfly integrated into the reception desk. On This Page Urquiola's Tatou suspension lamps for Flos above each bedside table, with Wever & Ducré spotlights highlighting the headboard.

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project / Paris-Gare de l'Est Hotel

Top Hotel restaurant featuring Fabbian's Lamas pendants Left Contardi's Cornelia pendants suspended above the bar.

welcoming and comfortable environment.

The custom made reception desk has been designed with an integrated LED lighting feature. The butterfly pattern symbolises spring and spreads out with finesse on the reception desk, with a backlight giving a fine and elegant appearance. This is a stylistic signature of Axel Schoenert architectes that can be found in many of their projects.

Moving up to the hotel’s bedrooms, Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola’s Tatou S1 suspension lamps from her Tatou collection for Flos are suspended above the tables,

while the bed head is enhanced using Wever & Ducré LEENS ceiling spotlights, highlighting the texture of the headboard.

Lucera’s made to measure Bedlite reading lamps allow guests to read in a comfortable light.

Alongside the Tatou S1 ceiling pendants, Urquiola's Tatou F floor and Tatou T1 table lights are also used around the bedrooms. Designed like a beehive, with colours and waves to embody spring, these additions provide further gentle yet bright illumination in the rooms. Lumina's Flo bedside lamps appear on the desks

underneath the TV for close-up illumination, while the ensuite bathrooms feature made to measure mirrors equipped with DMP's LED lights designed by Varnagy.

While enjoying a spot of spring at the ParisGare de l'Est Hotel, guests can venture down from their rooms to the hotel's restaurant for a light breakfast or an evening meal and a drink at the bar before venturing out into the Parisian capital. Italian designer Fabbian’s Ray collection illuminates the dining area above each table, emitting a cosy light for a gentle dining ambience.

The bar’s lighting also generates a

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comfortable and intimate atmosphere, while keeping the overall spirit of spring, with Italian lighting designer Contardi’s Cornelia collection of ceiling lights above the counter.

As well as aesthetics, Axel Schoenert architectes had a number of requirements from the operator regarding the environment, and implemented several measures to save energy; LED lights are used throughout the hotel. In the rooms, all lighting fixtures are controlled with energy saver keycard switches, turning everything on when entering the room.

Varnagy and Schoenert worked together

with the operators to adapt the lighting to meet the needs of all involved parties, with some lighting fixtures used to enhance design, such as the integrated LED butterfly on the reception desk. In the lobby and the corridors, separate lighting scenarios were created for day, evening and night to ensure no light is wasted and over-used.

In glowing luminosity, the Paris-Gare de l’Est Hotel houses a bright, optimistic interior, ensuring guests enjoy a warm, spring-like stay no matter what time of year. www.as-architecture.com www.varnagy.com

Left Floor and suspension lamps from Patricia Urquiola's Tatou collection for Flos, with Lumina's Flo lamp featured on the desk under the TV. Top DMP's LED suspension lamp designed by Varnagy illuminates the bathroom.

Project Details Paris-Gare de l'Est Hotel Client: Paris Inn Group Interior Design: Axel Schoenert architectes and Zsofia Varnagy Lighting Suppliers: DMP, FLOS, Foscarini, Lucera, Lumina, Wever & Ducré

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project / Poissonnerie Némeau, Quebec, Canada

Pics: Francois Laliberté, Imagicom

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Octopus' Garden Montréal-based creative design firm Jean de Lessard reinvents a walk on the bottom of the sea with the striking interior of Poissonnerie Némeau fish shop, on the south shore of Quebec City.

Inspired by Jules Verne’s adventure novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Montreal-based creative designer Jean de Lessard’s unique signature resonates through his recent Némeau project. With more than 25 years' experience and lead designer of his own firm, de Lessard has transformed a variety of interiors, each marked with his signature style of eclecticism, durability and functionality. Like his client, Poissonnerie Némeau, de Lessard took a fresh look at the traditional fish market through his own atypical lens. "I approached this project from the vintage viewpoint of Jules Verne, but through a time line between today and tomorrow. It's subtle, a little crazy, but fun!" he said.

Led by the breakdown of interpersonal relationships and physical boundaries to redefine the concept of interior space, the brand image of this 430sq.ft store located in Lévis, on the south shore of Québec City, is based on the same pioneering spirit. The fish market offers customers the chance to discover fish products in a new way by providing them with a unique promenadeshopping experience.

The concept of adding value to products through exploration is the main theme of a rather unusual design, which aims to be a journey of the senses around displays brimming with fresh products. "It facilitates interactions between staff and customers and adds a distinctive touch to the collective experience; shopping becomes enjoyable even in such a small space," commented de Lessard.

In this dynamic and minimalist space, the combination of horizontal and vertical lines and transparency brings to mind the

emptiness and fullness within the depths of the sea. The oblong-shaped, ethereal lighting, custom designed by Nemeau and manufactured by Lumen, appear as abstract vegetation suspended in space, balancing the denser shapes on the floor.

Ice-floe displays are randomly articulated around circulation axes, inviting gazes and a gourmand inspection of their content.

These stylised cooling systems topped with asymmetric glass cases were custom designed to evoke jewellery boxes, holding the contents of the sea’s jewels. The sculptural glass ceiling, with a prismatic shape and tone illustrates its underwater magic, becoming a form representation of the refraction of natural light on water. In one fluid motion, the striking honeycomb ceiling becomes a sweeping tsunami of shelves. This is a simple, practical and ingenious way to maximise the store area surface. The white and grey ceramic tiling is reminiscent of the slats of hardwood of a boat’s deck, emphasising the nautical theme.

Through a delicate play of natural light, reflectivity and custom designed ethereal light pieces, de Lessard has created an otherworldly shopping experience. He uses light and colour to draw attention to the elegance, delicacy and magic of the nautical world and all its inhabitants, rendering the fish shop a pleasurable experience for all. www.delessard.com

Project Details Poissonnerie Némeau, Quebec, Canada Client: Poissonnerie Némeau Interior Design: Jean de Lessard Lighting Design: Némeau Lighting Supplier: Lumen

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project / Mindtree NOC’s, Bangalore and Hyderabad

Networking Light Designed by Raj Consultants as high security Network Operation Centres for Mindtree, Oculus Light Studio and Lighting Research and Design take the lighting scheme to the next level of design interpretation, as described by Amardeep M Dugar.

Mindtree is a global IT company that provides customised solutions to clients in the banking, finance and insurance industry, which are highly dependent on IT for storing sensitive data and communicating between locations with high service availability. They set up Network Operations Centres (NOCs) for cost-effective, round-the-clock operations.

The NOC employees proactively monitor the client’s network, systems, applications and database infrastructure, and notify about service disruptions. Architects Raj Consultants were appointed by Mindtree to design and execute four NOCs over a span of three years from 2012 - 2014 to meet the growing demands of their clients.

NOCs are essentially ‘office-inside-an-office’ spaces with limited access due to the highly sensitive data stored and accessed within them. The space is completely insulated from the outside world for security reasons.

The first two NOCs namely NOC-B1 and NOC-B2 located in Bangalore, and each

having a capacity of 44 workstations, were completed simultaneously in 2013.

The remaining two NOCs, namely NOC-B5 located in Bangalore and NOC-H14 in Hyderabad, and having a capacity of 43 and 40 workstations respectively, were completed one after the other in 2014. The architectural design of NOC-B1 and NOC-B2 are very similar in terms of the shape, size and layout; NOC-B5 although similar to NOC-B1 and NOC-B2 has a minor variation in terms of the workstation capacity; while NOC-H14 is completely different from the other three with respect to shape, size and layout. Additionally, NOC-B1, NOC-B2 and NOC-B5 have an adjacent conference room facility, which allows clients to visually monitor the NOCs. The lighting design brief of the NOCs as presented to Oculus Light Studio and Lighting Research and Design, was to create future business opportunities by being the talking point for business development presentations. With employees working

round-the-clock in an insulated space, the lighting had to be both biologically and emotionally stimulating to ensure employee wellbeing and productivity. As each of these NOCs also became a centrepiece for showcasing the company’s technological capabilities, it became imperative for the lighting to reflect the company values to potential clients. A four-parameter concept was therefore proposed so as to meet the various corporate requirements global reach, innovation, connections and dispersion.

The Lighting Design Process The ceiling being the most visually prominent element in the NOC rooms became the centrepiece to provide a rich lighting scheme that would reflect the four-parameter concept. As the control point of networks in distant places, the NOC is connected on more than just a computer network level to the client’s country. Therefore the lighting design

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Pics: Amardeep M Dugar

NOC B1 & B2 - GLOBAL REACH: Lighting is integrated seamlessly into the design architectural elements.

NOC B5 - INNOVATION: Coloured light is used to celebrate special occasions such as National Holidays.

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project / Mindtree NOC’s, Bangalore and Hyderabad

NOC B1 & B2 - GLOBAL REACH: Lighting simulates the changing quality of daylight, programed over a 24hour period.

is also programmed to simulate the movement of the sun and lighting conditions corresponding to the client’s country.

On the chromaticity diagram, colours can be selected to represent the colour temperature of daylight. When it is early in the morning in the client’s country, the lighting for the spaces here is programed to be warm amber, changing to light amber, then to white and cool white at noon.

The lighting then changes to warm amber again; turning to deep blues through the night, with perhaps occasional projected moon and star locations. Cutting-edge programmable lighting control technologies were specified throughout the four NOCs: Lutron HomeWorks control system in NOC-B1, NOC-B2 and NOC-H14, and Traxon e-cue in NOC-B5.

All architectural elements common to each of the four NOCs were identified and provided with a similar lighting treatment so as to cohesively blend with the architecture. The common architectural elements identified were steps, workstation tables and the rear walls of the NOC rooms.

RGB colour-changing LED tape from Delta

Light, Osram and Oldham were used to highlight the steps as well as the recessed patterns made in front of the workstation tables. While the workstation patterns in NOC-H14 are different from the other three NOCs, they all received the same treatment with the LED tape. LED wallwashers from Lucifer Lighting were used to highlight the rear walls and provide soft, glare-free vertical illumination. NOC-B1, NOC-B2 and NOC-B5 have a similar principle of general lighting with recessed glare-free LED downlights from Delta Light and Lucifer Lighting above each of the workstations.

NOC-B1 and NOC-B2 have an additional layer of LED downlights from Lucifer Lighting that wash the curving peripheral walls made of fritted glass to provide soft vertical illumination.

Global Reach – NOC-B1 & NOC-B2 The concept for NOC-B1 and NOC-B2 is inspired by the Mindtree brand identity, where multiple coves of light in the ceiling weave towards a central globe to evoke its global reach. The vivid palette consisting of RGB colour-changing LED tapes from Delta

Light is programmed to gradually change throughout the day. The flowing forms are harmonious with the curving geometry of the space. The LED tapes in the steps and workstations also change colour according to the ceiling lighting’s programming. The colour changing LEDs are programmed to create scenes that simulate the various times of day and then fade between those scenes over a 24-hour period in the following pattern: • Morning – the lighting is warm amber during early mornings, changing to light amber and then white • Noon – the lighting changes from white to cool white • Evening – the lighting changes to white and warm amber again • Night – the lighting changes to different shades of blues through the night Innovation – NOC-B5 The concept for NOC-B5 is an abstracted pattern of light coves that evokes the organic growth of a tree. Sprouting from a single seed point, the angled branch forms represent the various market sectors, and

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NOC B5 - INNOVATION: ceiling cove lights evoke the organic growth of a tree.

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project / Mindtree NOC’s, Bangalore and Hyderabad

NOC B5 - INNOVATION: ‘Growing Tree’ effect is programmed with deeper colours emanating from the trunk and distributing to the branches as lighter colours.

services into which Mindtree has grown.

The bold forms echo the company’s bright, confident, and active voice. This treeshaped pattern of coves is illuminated using RGB colour-changing LED strips from Traxon.

Lighting within the tree form is envisioned to be white during the day. This changes to deep blue at night. When used in ‘showcase mode’, the tree is programmed with deeper colours emanating from the trunk and distributing to the branches as lighter colours. The tree pattern in NOC-B5 has additional programmable options to create stimulating effects such as: • ‘Morning-Noon-Evening-Night’ effect – the coves in the tree element create scenes that simulate the various times of day and then fade between those scenes over a 24-hour period. The coves in the tables and steps also change to the colour of the tree element.

• ‘Growing Tree’ effect – the cove in the tree element grows with deeper colours emanating from the trunk and distributing to the branches as lighter colours.

• ‘Chase’ effect – a single colour chases the entire length of the cove in the tree element like a wave. This effect is programmed with White, Magenta, Yellow, Blue, Red, Green and Cyan. A narrow band of colour flows from one side of the ceiling towards the other while the rest of the ceiling lights are switched off. The coves in the tables and steps also change to the colour wave of that moment.

• ‘Rainbow Chase’ effect – a set of different colours chase the entire length of the cove in the tree element like a wave. Narrow bands of 3-4 colours chase each other at a reasonably slow pace

from one side of the ceiling towards the other while the rest of the ceiling is kept dark.

• ‘Tri-colour’ effect – the entire length of the cove in the tree element represents the Indian national flag on special national festivals like Independence Day or Republic Day. Connections and Dispersion – NOC-H14 The concept for NOC-H14 evokes the diversified spread that Mindtree has on business and societies. Multiple sizes of round LED recessed downlights by XAL are located randomly in the ceiling, surrounded and connected by half-inch reveals in the ceiling drywall. In this interconnected pattern of diffused downlights, the larger downlights represent the germination point of the ideas that radiate outward and organically spread out to find root in

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NOC H14 - CONNECTIONS & DISPERSION: Randomly located downlights link with each other to emphasise connections.

PROJECT DETAILS Mindtree Network Operations Centres, Bangalore and Hyderabad, India Client: Mindtree, India and USA Architects: Raj Consultants, Bangalore, India Lighting design: Oculus Light Studio, Los Angeles, USA in association with Lighting Research and Design, Chennai, India Lighting supply, installation and commissioning: vis a vis, New Delhi, India

LIGHTING SPECIFIED smaller downlights. This concept reflects the creativity that Mindtree brings to the problems it helps to solve. The design intent behind each of these three different types of lighting elements used was to showcase Mindtree’s technological capabilities, as well as reflect its value of strong communication between locations.

The interconnected diffused downlights

in NOC-H14 provide general illumination for the workstations. While there are no dynamic colour changes like the other three NOCs, the dynamism is provided with the change in illumination levels and colour temperatures between 3000K and 4000K as the day progresses. www.lighting-rnd.in www.oculuslightstudio.com

Delta Light: LED Downlight Reo 8W Delta Light: RGB LED Strip IN 7.5W/m Lucifer: LED Downlight EDL 23W Lucifer: LED Wall-washer EDL 23W Lutron: HomeWorks Control System Oldham: LED RGB Strip Osram: LED RGB Strip Linear Light Colormix 18W/m Traxon: LED RGB Strip 1PXL 20W/m Traxon: eCUE Control System XAL: D Downlight Meno Round 7W, 11W, 20W, 43W, 77W

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project / The Beacon, The Tower, PNC Plaza

Pics: Andy Ryan

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Reduce, Reuse, Reflect ESI Design's The Beacon begs a moment of environmental reflection in an ecocentric embodiment of PNC Financial Services Group's Tower building at PNC Plaza, Pittsburgh.

Created by design firm ESI Design for the PNC Financial Services Group, the Beacon is a data-driven media installation located in The Tower at PNC Plaza, Pittsburgh, US. The installation pulsates with shifting light, colour and sound patterns, expressing environmental concerns in its motions that allude to energy and water consumption, water recycling, use of artificial light and other environmental building indicators.

The Beacon is a 24ft high installation suspended from a central ring on the atrium ceiling comprised of 1,584 transparent liquid crystal polycarbonate panels backed with a grid of eight LED lights. Drawing on real-time data from the building systems, the installation expresses in real time how the building uses fresh air and sunlight to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels to create a comfortable and healthy work environment. Creating a striking and unique media canvas, the installation also shows how the building is recycling water and how much of The Tower’s waste is being diverted from landfill.

As specialists in experience design, to encourage the public’s engagement with The Beacon, ESI Design created a website accessible on any digital device

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project / The Beacon, The Tower, PNC Plaza

located in The Tower lobby. Visitors to the site can explore the meaning behind The Beacon’s light and sound displays, as well as more about the building’s state-of-the-art technology and design.

According to Vice President of Creative Strategy for ESI Design, Gideon D’Arcangelo, The Beacon sets a new model for how green buildings can engage and educate the public about sustainable design, green technologies and the role that tenants and visitors can play in water and energy conservation, recycling and composting.

“Our goal in designing The Beacon was to transform the way people experience the building and communicate the invisible

things the building does, behind the scenes, to maximise resources,” said D’Arcangelo.

“The Beacon is a dynamic, data-driven media installation that is intriguing and beautiful to look at and hear. It also rewards the curious, by explaining itself and encouraging people to dig deeper to learn how the building works and how it is performing at any given moment.”

ESI Design deployed the same design philosophy it uses in producing engaging experiences for retailers, cultural institutions, museums and other public spaces under the leadership of interactive pioneer Ed Schlossberg. ESI drew upon the team’s experience and design expertise in

a variety of specialised disciplines, including interactive, visual, and website design.

This empowering installation is more than just a structure to admire for its aesthetics.

It serves a thought provoking and imperative function in its service to reflect what The Tower itself aims to achieve for environment. Undoubtedly, it will be admired for both its inner and outer beauty. www.esidesign.com

Project Details The Beacon, The Tower, PNC Plaza Client: PNC Financial Services Group Installation Design: ESI Design

Jal Mahal, Jaipus, India

UNDERWATER LIGHTING · EXTERIOR LIGHTING QBIG, Heilbronn, Germany (Fotoclub Obersulm)

Authorised Distributor: LightAlive Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai Office Tel : 022 24215685/86/88 New Delhi Office Tel : 08447849990 Bengaluru Office Tel : 08197904904 Contact : sales@lightalive.in

Authorised Distributor: Versalite Hitech Lighting Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai Office Tel 022 43331818 Hyderabad Office Tel: 098481 59494 Bengaluru Office Tel: 093410 21012 Contact : marketing@versa-lite.com

WIBRE Elektrogeräte GmbH & Co.KG Made in Germany. Since 1919. www.wibre.de

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art & design / NIGHT OF HERITAGE LIGHT, UK

MAKING HISTORY COME TO LIGHT The Society of Light and Lighting, along with CIBSE celebrate the International Year of Light by illuminating some of the UK's most iconic locations.

On 1 October, in an event designed to showcase the talents of SLL members and the lighting community, teams of dedicated lighting designers shone a ‘new light’ on UNESCO World Heritage Sites across the UK aimed at promoting lighting as both an art form and a science. Starting at William the Conqueror’s Tower of London, the Night of Heritage Light worked its way up the country as the natural light faded.

For one night only, experts in the field of lighting put their designs on display to demonstrate the power of light. Other heritage sites include Edinburgh Old and New Towns, Fountains Abbey, Liverpool Maritime Graving Dock, Pontcysyllte Aquaduct, Ironbridge Gorge, Blenheim

Palace, Blaenavon, Jurassic Coast and Giant’s Causeway.

Liz Peck, President of the Society of Light and Lighting, said: “By combining light with some of the UK’s most beautiful sights, we can capture the public’s attention in a way that showcases the best that the lighting industry has to offer. It’s about inspiring the next generation of minds to make the great breakthroughs in lighting by thinking big and realising the industry’s potential.”

Combining their love of light and art, design teams showcased the practical applications of lighting and how it can improve and enhance architecture. www.nohl-sll.org

Pic: Rachel Ferriman

PARTNERS NOHL Team Liz Peck, Rhiannon West, Dan Lister, Simon Fisher, Brendan Keely, Juliet Rennie Lighting Practices Apollo Lighting, Arup, BDP Lighting, Cundall Light4, Designphase, DPA Lighting, G3 Lighting Design, Hoare Lea, Light and Design, Lite-ltd, Michael Grubb Studio, Edinburgh Napier University, Ramboll, Speirs + Major, Troup Bywaters & Anders Infrastructure & Equipment Amerlux, Black Light, Blue Parrot, Chroma Lighting, Core Lighting, Cree, Double Take Projections, DW Windsor, ERCO, Fagerhult, GE, HSS Hire, iGuzzini, Kemps, LED Linear, Light Projects, Lumenpulse, Martin Professional, Meyer, Osram, Performance In Lighting, Philips, Reggiani, Rosco, Rose, Bruford, Soraa, Thorn, Zumtobel

TOWER OF LONDON Colin Ball, BDP Lighting Iain Ruxtion, Speirs+Major The Tower of London has contained and secured a central part of the British identity for almost a millennia, through which the tower has constantly evolved. The design team led by Iain Ruxton from Speirs + Major studio and Colin Ball from BDP Lighting evoked the changing lighting conditions of this long history through their design.

Iain Ruxton from Speirs + Major commented: “The Tower today is a living functioning palace of our government and crown system, still housing the Crown Jewels and Mace, the prime symbols of Crown and Governance. It’s such a central building to British history and to the psychogeography of London, one of the buildings that defines the city. You can’t live in London and not feel its significance. As such we wanted to show this presence of what the Tower guards for our collective identity, and that right here is the Shining Heart of the Nation.”

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BLENHEIM PALACE Michael Curry, dpa lighting consultants The lighting scheme for the palace project show focussed on the main entrance and in particular the stunning roofscape that hasn’t ever been highlighted. Leading the design team for the Blenheim Palace project, Michael Curry from dpa lighting consultants, described the site grounds

Pic: Robert Galloway

as stunning with a multitude of lighting opportunities in every corner. “Our profession equips us with such amazing tools to transform spaces, objects and people’s lives by improving the lit environment.

The opportunity to light Blenheim Palace was clearly a significant driving force for

our enthusiasm for the event,” said Curry.

“We wanted to splash a little light here and there and also dust it on the top to expose the architectural peaks against the back drop of a setting which again recedes back into darkness.”

EDINBURGH OLD & NEW TOWNS Malcolm Innes Design The Edinburgh design team, led by Malcom Innes from Malcom Innes Design, explored innovative ways to use community codesign to re-light the closes that lead off Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile. The testing site location required battery-powered light sources with a lot of flexible and adjustable lighting stands to work as a synchronised whole.

Innes explained that the idea for the design was to take lots of small sites that are largely hidden from view and reveal them in a creative way.

“Because we were working on a very busy street, our lighting solutions had to be creative and required quite a few hands to make it all work," he said.

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art & design / NIGHT OF HERITAGE LIGHT, UK

Pic: Adam Glatherine

FOUNTAINS ABBEY David Battersby, Apollo Lighting & Adam Glatherine, G3 Lighting Design In a first for Fountains Abbey, lighting designers from Apollo Lighting and G3 Lighting Design illuminated the ruins, highlighting the east elevation with shafts of light and graphic light elements taken from the IYOL logo.

Managing director for G3 Lighting Design, Adam Glatherine explained that the design

was focused on the often overlooked east elevation of Fountains Abbey by using light to draw it the attention it deserves.

“The colour once present inside the abbey building's pre-dissolution was hinted at using the ethereal medium of light,” Glatherine said. “Shafts of light symbolise the centuries of culture built within these

walls. The particular way light was used on the east façade was intended to bring out even older historical aspects of the Abbey and tie them together with the contemporary values of the International Year of Light.”

Pic: Don Kinghan

GIANT'S CAUSEWAY Jim Patton, Light and Design Studio

IRONBRIDGE GORGE Simeon Kay, Designphase & Tim Pink, L.I.T.E

Since the 18th century, the Giant's Causeway has been described as the eighth Wonder of The World. Belfast-based lighting designer Jim Patton from Light and Design studio, used a mix of battery powered LED fittings with generator-powered LED floods at remote locations along the Causeway, illuminating this magical site for the first time.

Patton said: “I jumped at the chance to work on this project, as an Irishman, this site is part of my heritage. The lunar landscape of the Giant's Causeway, lurking below the gaunt sea wall where the land ends, must have struck wonder into the hearts of the ancient settlers and still does to tourists that visit today. I wanted to highlight each mystical natural element with several powerful flood lights to make the causeway stand out on Ireland’s beautiful coastal vista.”

Using a range of colour changing LED lights, the Ironbridge Gorge team illuminated the full width of the bridge and its apex.

Leading the design team, Simeon Kay, SLL member and director of Designphase, said the idea was to light the iron structure with a range of colour changeable LED products, providing a full width panoramic of the bridge.

“We also wanted to highlight the apex of this construction to bring out the central artistic detail and allow people to search for the famous silhouette of Abraham Darby,” he said. “I was really pleased to be allocated the Ironbridge scheme as I grew up just 20-minutes' drive away. Coming from a family of engineers, a day trip out to this amazing structure and the surrounding works would feed an appetite for design, innovation and construction.”

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Pic: Kenton, Simons Story Photography

BLAENAVON IRONWORKS Ben Porter, Hoare Lea Lighting Blaenavon Ironworks, now the site of a museum, was established in 1797 and played a significant part in the industrial revolution, becoming the world’s foremost producer of iron and coal. Hoare Lea Lighting showcased the site's heritage using small LED tealights through a creative illumination of the Balance Tower, featuring the names of community members associated with the ironworks when it was in operation.

Ben Porter, lighting designer at Hoare Lea said: “We wanted our design to emphasise the link between the community and the ironworks. We managed to obtain a list of the people from the community around the time the ironworks was in operation and illuminated them individually around the base of the Balance Tower."

Subtle uplighting was also introduced to link the Balance Tower and introduce varying scales to the scheme.

Pic: Ian Robinson

LIVERPOOL MARITIME GRAVING DOCK Andrew Bissell, Cundall Light4 The design team allocated to Liverpool Maritime, headed up by SLL member Andrew Bissell of Cundall Light4, highlighted the graving dock, a key heritage site in Liverpool and one not often seen or valued by visiting guests to the museum.

Bissell said: “The Night of Heritage Light is the perfect event to promote and educate the importance of lighting design and equipment. The scale of the event will raise the profile of the International Year of Light and the lit sites demonstrated what can be achieved by the lighting community for our communities.

“With so much light in the area we really had to reign ourselves in.

Our idea was to light the inside of one of the graving docks and we liked the idea that the effect wouldn't be seen until you arrived at, or walked past, the graving dock.”

Pic: Mike Massaro

DURDLE DOOR Michael Grubb Studio The Bournemouth-based design team led by Michael Grubb created a scene that is reminiscent of an impressionist painting. Using a variety of lighting tricks, the studio filled the arch with reflected light, with additional lighting from the shore providing warmth to the landscape. Grubb explained that the challenge of lighting a location along the Jurassic Coast was too good an opportunity to pass, but with over 100 miles of coastline the selection process was not an easy one.

“As part of the process we took a daytrip along the route, stopping over at numerous locations to admire the landscape and seek out possible lighting opportunities. We finally agreed on Durdle Door, which is arguably the most visually stunning and isolated spot we visited," he said.

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art & design / pld-c 2015, rome

Pic: Michael Loos Photography

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congressing in rome mondo*arc india heads to Rome as an official magazine partner of PLD-C 2015. Amongst a plethora of presentations, excursions, experience rooms and social networking, we managed to pack a punch in the few days.

The fifth edition of PLD-C took place in Rome in October 2015. With more than 1700 attendees from 63 countries, this year’s convention surpassed all previous records. As a platform for the development of new trends and political discussion, the conference offered itself as a venue for numerous debates and deliberations.

The congregation of architects, designers, researchers, educators and technology enthusiasts explored the importance of light and the lighting design profession with reference to this year’s theme, ‘Light and Culture’.

Set against the historical backdrop of Rome, and seeped in the heart of Italian lighting technology, PLD-C 2015 created an opportunity to reflect on cultural roots in juxtaposition with modern advances, bridging the gap between the past and the future of urban life.

With twenty-four presentations in a day, multiple experience rooms, product booths and an open selection of excursions around the city, there was not a moment to be lost.

Our first evening was spent on a private tour of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, organised by Osram. With the entire Vatican museum to ourselves, free of hoards of tourists and flashing cameras, we walked into the chapel in the dead of silence. Not only was it magical to be standing under the famed painting by Michelangelo, ‘The Creation of Adam’, but to be explained and demonstrated in detail, the new lighting renovation of the space elevated the experience to par none.

Beginning the conference the next morning, it was a struggle to decide from the multitude of enthralling presentations what to attend. Having witnessed talks by industry stalwarts such as Dr. Michael Molé and Riccardo Marini, papers presented

by acclaimed lighting designers such as Malcolm Innes, Abhay Wadhwa, Tapio Rosenius, Anne Bureau and Neil Harbisson were as impressive.

An extraordinary presentation by Neil Harbisson titled ‘The Sound of Colours’ was most intriguing. Born completely colourblind, Neil was accustomed to perceiving the world in grayscale. However, his passion for the arts and curiosity for the unknown coupled with a talk he attended by Adam Montandon, led him on a journey to develop a sensor that was permanently attached to his head; that transposed colour frequency to sound frequency. Over the course of time and many developments later, Harbisson today hears images and paints sounds.

Harbisson talked about how colourful our lives are and how much information is dominated by colour. He spoke about the way he perceived people’s faces, and how that has changed, for now when he looks at someone he can listen to the colour on their faces. Hearing colour also means he can paint what he hears, and that has led him to give colour concerts, musicians learn the sound of colour, and during the concert they play the colours that are projected on to them.

Harbisson encourages us to become cyborgs, so that we can extend our perception of nature and space, so that we can rediscover the planet we live on.

Another fascinating take on the phenomena of light took us to ‘Light on Mars…a cultural overview of light on another planet and in the galaxy (in space movies)’ by Anne Bureau.

She talked about how science fiction movies, particularly space movies have given us an opportunity to explore planets other than Earth, and to travel through the galaxy. What is the role of light in

the creation of these far off worlds, be it natural light or artificial light? How is the light of these imaginary universes a part of our cultural background? Bureau ended by saying that no matter what scenes we experience on screen, until now the lighting in space movies has always been designed or envisioned…with human eyes.

Having to choose from an unending buffet of academic research, practical application, workshops, and discussions on professional practice issues, the conference proved to be an arduous experience in extending knowledge base and expanding network creations. It ended on a high note with the gala dinner and PLD Recognition Awards. www.pld-c.com

The deserving winners were: Young Designers’ Speaker Competition: Pernille Krieger, Eik Lykke Nielsen, University of Aarhus/DK Award for Best Newcomer: Kerem Ali Asfuroglu, Speirs + Major /TY/UK Award for Best Industry Innovation: Arduino Award for Education: Dorit Malin, Israel Award for Research: Dr. Karolina Zielinska-Dabkowska/PL/CH Award for the Best Daylighting Project: Artist Raphael Hefti/CH for Van Gogh Museum Arles/F Award for Best New Project: Energy Tower Façade, Roskilde/DK Award at Large: Daan Roosegaarde for temporary installation “Waterlicht”/NL. Lifetime Award: Motoko Ishii

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art & design / PLD-C 2015, rome

an educated decision PLD-C 2015 was considered by many as ‘the’ place to see the latest in product innovation and inspiring presentations, while providing plenty of opportunities to socialise with old and new friends alike. Here, we bring you a taste of mondo*arc’s experience of the event.

The interdisciplinary structure of the Professional Lighting Design Conference (PLD-C) promotes future-oriented discussion on the importance of light and the lighting design profession. In Rome, lighting designers, architects, clients, researchers, educators and the lighting industry were present and open to discuss the quality of light in architecture, and to discover and develop trends.

PLD-C 2015 took place under the patronage of the Roman Chapter of Architects, Urban Planners, Landscape Architects and Curators. The main theme this year was Light and Culture. The organisers chose Italy as a location because historical roots and modern lighting technology make for

an especially exciting contrast, and this is especially evident in Italy. Museum and gallery lighting, and the illumination of historic sites such as the Colosseum can benefit from modern technologies, bridging the gap between the past and the future of urban life in a tourist city.

Keynote speakers included: Prof. Dr. Arnold Nesselrath; Ricardo Marini; Ilaria Abbondandolo; Klaus Obermaier; Daniel Latorre; and Michele Molé.

The event closed with a spectacular gala dinner and PLDR Awards ceremony at the Cinecittá film studios. Prinicipal Designer and Artistic Director for the evening was ACET’s Koert Vermeulen with the awards moderated by Sharon Stammers and Martin

Lupton of Light Collective.

Winners included: Pernille Krieger and Eik Lykke Nielsen from the University of Aarhus/DK, winners of The Challenge; Best Newcomer went to Kerem Ali Asfuroglu; Best Industry Innovation went to Arduino; Dorit Malin from Israel received the Award for Education; The Award for Research went to Dr Karolina Zielinska-Dabkowska; Artist Raphael Hefti won the Award for Best Daylighting Project; Gunver Hansen from Copenhagen won Best New Project; The Award at Large was presented to Daan Roosegaarde; and finally the Lifetime Award went to Motoko Ishii for her life’s work.

PLD-C 2017 will take place in Paris.

NULTY+ / XICATO During this year’s PLD-C, Claire Hamill of Nulty+ gave a talk detailing her research paper on one of the largest issues facing cosmetic retailers; the number of customer complaints and returns due to mismatched foundation shades.

Carried out alongside the University College London (UCL) and supported by Xicato, for a leading global cosmetics brand, Hamill was supported by fellow designers Anna Sandgren and Christina Hebert, who developed a controlled experiment to investigate optimum light source specifications for foundation colour matching within cosmetics stores and concessions.

The research, which in part was continued during PLD-C in one of the experience

rooms, aimed to prove that by finding the correct quality of light / Spectral Power Distribution (SPD) for colour matching, customers would in turn have a better brand experience, reducing product returns and ultimately increasing profits for cosmetics retailers. The results were collated and analysed by UCL and from there Xicato has developed a commercial LED module Beauty Series in direct response to the research findings and aiming to produce the best balance between beautiful, natural skin tones and colour discrimination.

Hamill said: “Accurate rendering of skin tone is a difficult challenge, because skin is such a rich and complex palette, consisting of many subtle shades. Our studies show that people feel good when

they look good. This means that humancentric lighting should be applicable anywhere it is important for people to look and feel good.”

Roger Sexton, VP of Specifier Services at Xicato added: “Nulty+ together with UCL defined a retail lighting issue, weighed up scientifically different possible solutions and now continue with an in store longitudinal study. I find this a fantastic model of how to carry out market based product research.”

The Beauty Series LED module has since been designed into a new lighting scheme at a flagship cosmetic store in Covent Garden, London by the team at Nulty+. Over a one year test period sales, dwell times and product returns will be compared with averages within other stores across London.

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Pic: House of Augustus - Andy White

LINEA LIGHT GROUP On the Wednesday evening ahead of PLD-C 2015, Linea Light Group, a Gold Sponsor of the event organised an exclusive excursion to the House of Augustus (Domus Augusti), as well as the chance to visit the House of Livia and the Baths of Diocletian.

In 2014, the Special Superintendency of the Colosseum, the National Museum of Rome and the archaeological area of Rome reorganised the archaeological tour from the House of Augustus to the Palatine to mark the 2,000th anniversary of the Emperor’s death. Carolina De Camillis and Riccardo Fibbi, architects and lighting designers,

worked on the restoration project and were responsible for the creation and overseeing of the lighting for the duration of the works.

An innovative lighting system was installed throughout the Domus Augusti, focusing light on the pictorial decorations that adorn it, and in particular the fresco in the Room of Perspectives and the walls decorated with masks and garlands of pine cones inside the Emperor’s private residence. The restoration work also focused on the House of Livia, highlighting its splendid frescoed walls and the opening of the Triclinium, the dining room of the day.

iGUZZINI This year’s PLD-C saw Italian manufacturer iGuzzini take its position as the event’s very first Diamond sponsor. On the Friday evening of PLD-C, the manufacturer treated a select number of guests to La Dolce Vita Vespa tour followed by a luxury dinner and entertainment. Deputy Editor Helen Fletcher was one of the lucky guests and thanks to the excellent driving skills of BDP’s Giorgos Kourtelis, she managed to survive the Vespa ride around the city centre to tell the tale!

Pics: Courtesy of iGuzzini

ERCO Gold sponsor ERCO invited its guests to celebrate the future of digital light against a historical backdrop during this year’s PLD-C. Following welcome drinks and canapés on the Terrazza Caffarelli, a tour took place around one of the most exciting LED relighting projects of the year – the Imperial Forums in Rome, led by the lighting designers responsible Francesca and Vittorio Storaro. Due to the fragile nature of the archaeological site and power requirements being limited to 28kW covering a surface area of over 20,000m², ERCO’s LED luminaires were installed, while Helvar designed the lighting control and light management system. This was carried out by using Helvar 910 DIGIDIM router’s and hundreds of digitally controlled DALI LED luminaires.

Pics: Andy White

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art & design / pld-c 2015, rome

The Road To Rome Society of Light and Lighting Secretary Brendan Keely talks about the final round of The Challenge, the student speaker competition of PLD-C 2015, Rome.

Pic: Michael Loos Photography

The Society of Light and Lighting (SLL) attended the third round of the PLD-C warm-up event, The Challenge, as the student speaker competition’s Official Knowledge Partner. I was there as coach to three of the speakers: Regina Lausell and Hong Wang, who both graduated from Parsons in New York City in 2014, and a double act, Pernille Krieger and Eik Lykke Nielsen from Aarhus University in Denmark, who had just graduated from their Bachelors in January 2014.

My first introduction to the competition was back in August 2014 during round two, when as a future coach I assessed nearly 40 three-minute ‘elevator pitches’ from international students. Following all the coaches’ evaluations, 15 entries were then to be mentored for round three of the competition at Edinburgh Napier University, where they were required to present a 20-minute paper each. It was then left to the coaches to pick the student who would accompany them to the finals of the competition at PLD-C 2015 in Rome in

October 2015, where they would fight it out for the title.

I chose Pernille and Eik to go forward to the finals with their presentation titled ‘Lighting Design for the Elderly’. Since round three in Edinburgh, Eik had moved away to further his studies and Pernille had started work before beginning her Masters. Once again Skype became our method of communication to develop the 20-minute presentation from Edinburgh to the more detailed and expanded 40-minute presentation for Rome. It is only when you rely on technology that you realise how difficult it is to communicate between three different locations, that too with varying degrees of Internet strength.

Albeit the perils of long distance communication, Pernille and Eik made the coaching process a pleasure. Not only did they work very hard, but we also had many laughs along the way. To make things more interesting, Eik had to fit in his study for 3 weeks of examinations leading up to Rome.

Once in Rome, the three of us could finally

sit together and work face-to-face, turning the hotel room into the venue for our presentation practice.

The morning of Saturday 31st October was the beginning of the closing day of the conference and the finals of The Challenge.

The night before, Philips Lighting who had supported the event throughout, took all coaches and students for a guided walk around Rome to settle any nerves (mainly the coaches), and thankfully take some time away from the hotel and conference venue. The final presentations were well attended and all five teams delivered inspiring and polished presentations. Then began the waiting game…

The Conference was wrapped up with a Gala Dinner at the Cinecittà film studios, famous for movies such as Cleopatra (1963), Zeffirelli’s Romeo & Juliet (1968), Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York (2002) and the new James Bond film, Spectre. Lighting Designer Koert Vermeulen and his team from ACT Lighting Design were responsible for conceiving the lighting and design of

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Pic: Michael Loos Photography

the venue, and it was a stunning setting for the awards to be presented. We did not have a great deal of time between dinner and the awards, and I think we were still eating when they began the proceedings.

The first award to be announced was for The Challenge. With Eik to my left and Pernille to my right, hands were held under the table. Alison Ritter, of VIA-Verlag took to the stage with envelope in hand. With a big smile she announced to the 800 guests before her, that the winner of the first PLD-C Challenge competition was… Pernille and Eik! With a tight squeeze of my left and right hands followed by a big team hug, they walked on to the stage amid a huge round of applause from the audience.

I think it is only fair to say that this was the biggest moment in their education and career since they graduated from their Bachelors degree in January, and I for one think we will be seeing a great deal more of these two brilliant individuals.

The Challenge was a great platform for the students to fine-tune their presentation techniques and speak in front of such a large audience of their peers.

PLD-C 2015 was also accredited with CIBSE CPD credits for all those attending the lectures. The competition for 2016/2017 will be launched soon and the finals will be in Paris at the PLD-C 2017. We wish all the new coaches and students bonne chance!

Pic: Michael Loos Photography

Winning Entry: Lighting Design To Help Elderly Citizens Live Independently Mentor: Brendan Keely Presenters: Pernille Krieger/Denmark, Eik Lykke Nielsen/Denmark The basis of the paper and presentation was to increase the independence of the elderly through good lighting design to improve their quality of life, their contribution to the community at large, and reduce the so called ‘financial’ burden of caring for the elderly.

Remaining finalists: Mentor: Emrah Baki Ulas Presenter: Roslyn Leslie/UK Mentor: Florence Lam: Presenter: Isabel Sanchez Sevillano/USA Mentor: Tapio Rosenius Presenter: Mahdis Aliasgari/Sweden Mentor: Iain Ruxton Presenter: Stephanie Denholm/UK Pic: Brenden Keely

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art & design / LIGHTS IN ALINGSÅS, SWEDEN

OUT OF DARKNESS COMES LIGHT Lights in Alingsås brings the small Swedish town just outside Gothenburg to the forefront of lighting design through its annual workshop and festival.

Pics: Patrik Gunnar Helin

Once a year in the darkness of the Swedish winter, there is one place that shines… In the west of Sweden lies the small town of Alingsås with its 40,000 inhabitants. Since the turn of the century its buildings, parks, lakes and playgrounds have been lit up every autumn when the international event, the Lights in Alingsås festival, takes place.

It all began when a group of architecture students from Gothenburg needed somewhere they could experiment with lighting - and Alingsås municipality allowed them to use certain places in the town. The results sparked an interest and desire to see more; ever since Lights in Alingsås has evolved year on year and now consists of two different elements. Firstly there is a week's workshop where seven international lighting designers create and develop the year's theme, which is then designed and built with the help of 60 students from all over the world. The second part of the festival starts when the light trail is officially opened and visitors find their way

through the town centre, following a trail, which creates exciting new flows of people looking at the installations.

Today Lights in Alingsås is the largest light event in northern Europe with 80,000 visitors a year. For restaurants, cafés and other businesses in the town, October has become one of the most prosperous months in the year.

Alingsås municipality continues to be responsible for the festival, which is run in collaboration with Estrad Alingsås, IALD and several major sponsors of which the foremost are Alingsås Energi and Sparbanken Alingsås.

This year's theme, The Development of Light Through the Ages, was selected in conjunction with the International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies.

“We share the hope of the UN for an enlightened world, in both senses of the word," said Anna Davidsson Project Developer for Lights in Alingsås. "One way for us to contribute is by offering financial

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art & design / LIGHTS IN ALINGSÅS, SWEDEN

Previous page top Under the Boardwalk Workshop Head Anna Sbokou Bottom Left 'Natural Light at Night' Workshop Head Kevan Shaw Bottom Right 'The Evolution of Iron' Workshop Head Andrea Hartranft. Top Left 'Big Bang Sun' Workshop Head Katja Winkelmann Top Right 'Living Room Under the Highway' Workshop Head Reinhard Germer.

help to students who are not well off."

In September Anna Sbouko from Greece, Kevan Shaw from Scotland, Roberto Corradini and Marco Palandella from Italy, Reinhard Germer and Katja Winkelmann from Germany, Andrea Hartranft from the US, and Jan Ejhed and Katarina Hennig from Sweden led the groups responsible for lighting up Alingsås. Working in international workshops, they were assisted by around 60 students from countries including Japan, Israel, Panama, Colombia and Italy.

The designers interpreted important events in the history of light to create experiences including lighting, sound and other elements to stimulate the senses. The aim was to give visitors to Lights in Alingsås an immersive experience where they could travel both back and forwards in time. Professor Jan Ejhed from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm acted as a sounding board in the process.

Sound was also an important element in the installations along the light trail.

Collaborating with lighting designers, composer Sebastian Studnitzky from Germany produced haunting and exciting sounds that intensified and enriched experiences for the visitors.

The ‘Lights’ workshop was made possible by international collaboration and the commitment of sponsors who provided the equipment. But there is another element too - and that is local involvement. “The group that came to Alingsås this year were great,” said Davidsson. “People worked well together, discussions were lively and ideas flowed freely among the lighting designers.

The last thing German designer Reinhard Germer said before he left was that Alingsås felt warm and welcoming - and that the professional organisation had made him feel at home. It bodes well for the future.”

Students come from all over the world, but for some of them the adventure can be an expensive business. Plane tickets, accommodation and the registration fee add up to quite a substantial amount, in particular for those who come from outside Europe. With this in mind Lights in Alingsås, acting through its project owners Alingsås Town Hall (ABAR), started to award grants making it possible for more people to participate; grants covering course fees were awarded to 25 applicants this year.

“We don't want attending Lights in Alingsås to create financial problems for students, but would like to be able to offer all

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Top 'Mediterranean Breeze' Workshop Head Roberto Corradini & Marco Palandella Bottom 'The Rhythm of Flames' Workshop Head Vivi Katarina Hennig.

students with a keen interest in light design the chance to participate in our workshop and we can do that now,” said Davidsson.

After the workshop, the events organisation takes over and the light installations go on show in Alingsås for five weeks. At the same time there are a variety of different activities taking place such as shopping evenings, illuminated cafés, runs, special events for children and evenings of cultural activities. Every evening there are guided tours from Alingsås tourist office along the light trail. Visitors can hear more about the history of light, the work behind the light installations and learn about the international light designers and their work.

There were also several new developments this year: the Children’s Park of the Future was one - a series of workshops on the theme of the future, created by Alingsås nursery schools and after-school centres.

More than five hundred children, attending five different after-school centres, were free to make their own light creations.

The children's own mini-installations were exhibited in the centre of the town as part of the light trail, the idea being that visitors would bask in light from the future.

“It’s fun, but also really important, to work with innovation and development in this way; they are two of the festival’s most crucial areas of interest," said Angelica Larsson, Event Manager. "In children, developments and new discoveries come quite naturally out of their desire to learn.

And of course, children are our future."

Currently, planning for next year's Lights in Alingsås festival is in full swing and lighting designers interested in applying for a workshop place or head designer position can now register their interest through IALD. www.lightsinalingsas.se

LIGHTING PARTNERS acdc, Barco, ETC, Fergin, iGuzzini, Insta, Irrlicht, Kungsbacka Lighting, LED Linear, Luce&Light, Lumenpulse, Luxlight, Martin Professional, Meyer, Rebel Light, Stockholm Lighting, Traxon, Uplight, Wibre, Wireless Solutions, Zumtobel

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art & design / TO SEE THE SOUND, moscow biennale, russia

light & sound Russia's National Centre for Contemporary Arts (NCCA) recently launched a large-scale audio-visual project in Moscow dedicated to the study of sound in contemporary art... with a little help from lighting.

Misterium Cosmographicum by Walery Martynchik

The TO SEE THE SOUND festival is an organic continuation of a joint project of Russia's National Centre for Contemporary Arts (NCCA), and TodaysArt - LUCIDA Space (which took place in January-March 2014) - in collaboration with the Goethe Institute and Moscow City Galleries Network as part of the 6th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art. While LUCIDA Space was mainly dedicated to the phenomenon of light, this time the main object of aesthetic reflection was sound in all the multitude of its manifestations. Aesthetic images that simultaneously affect all senses are born out of the never-ending dialogue of light and sound.

TO SEE THE SOUND began in September at different venues around Moscow. The

Geometry of Light VVV by Nargiza Usmanova

festival program included exhibitions, performances, concerts, lectures and public talks with artists.

The festival presents the work of numerous contemporary artists that use integrated installation forms, where the sound creates a new artistic integrity organically interacting with the image (video projection, photography, computer animation), with technology and situational developments, thereby showing its limitless phenomenological presence in the world.

Four projects by two artists (Walery Martynchik and Nargiza Usmanova) in two galleries (Beliaevo and Kashirka) are technically partnered by GVA using the company's full range of products.

The exhibition at Gallery Beliaevo is built on the principle of the Mobius sound

loop and reflects the idea of perpetual motion and return of the sound to its original state. In this case, the sound itself, acoustics in general and music are subject to movement and circulation as a cultural phenomenon. The imagery of the exhibition is based on quotations and references to previous historical experiences of a contemporary listening audience - a huge and varied sound-music culture, including the minimalism of casual human speech.

The uniqueness of sound and acoustics in our current modern life realises itself in the fullness of historical experience of a person, the experience of hearing and sound production - from Vladimir Tarasov’s audiovisual bass installations to Maxim Ksuta’s electroacoustic projection. Music,

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Wittgenstein's Light Logic by Walery Martynchik

12 by Nargiza Usmanova

sound, light and acoustics in the optics of artistic vision - a myriad of possibilities of recourse to the world, its understanding and savouring.

At the heart of Mobius sound loop exhibition is the idea of cyclic development of the sound and music in contemporary culture. Geometry of Light VVV by Nargiza Usmanova portrays the cyclicity of lights and repetition, infinite like Mobius loops to represent the geometry of lights.

Geometry of Light VVV, like an encrypted abbreviation, represents the infinite zig-zag lines of light. The huge structural geometric shapes organise spatial composition. The figures are constructed from GVA linear product Highlighter HL-DL with round and flat diffusers. Plastic film acts as a connecting reflector combining shapes and

drawing the movement of light using GVA INFINITY Technology, Highlighter HL-DL, STR9 RGB and LIRA products. Mechanical and technical support was from Julian Verrall and Peter van Nuland.

Usmanova's 12 installation consists of twelve hand-made braided spheres with 60 GVA IP-SF-3 LEDs inside each ball. They look like alien organisms, meteorites or small sphere planets, living and highlighting their independent life.

Usmanova is the Chief Designer at GVA Lighting. Originally from Belarus, she graduated from the Belarusian Academy of Arts and is passionate about the integration of art and light. Her original works are in private collections in Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Finland, Turkey and Canada.

Originally from Belarus, Walery Martynchik

has lived in London since 1990 exhibiting nationally and internationally. His Misterium Cosmographicum installation is named after the 16th century book of cosmological theory by astronomer Johannes Kepler. The installation consists of abstract structures lit from the inside by coloured LEDs. The other installation is devoted to the work of the 20th century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein's Light logic consists of a number of tall rectangular semitransparent boxes covered with text and photographs of the philosopher, lit from the inside by white light.

The TO SEE THE SOUND festival runs until 31 January 2016. www.gvalighting.com www.ncca.ru

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art & design / MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORDS, WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND

community creation Centred around the poem I Love Lamp by Ford Dagenham, Many Hands Make Light Words is a community-created light installation, developed through a cross-continent collaboration between Light Collective and PhotoActivate.

Wellington LUX is a free public light festival that turns the city's waterfront and laneways into a captivating celebration of light, art, technology and design.

In August, the festival featured Many Hands Make Light Words: an installation that came about through a cross continent collaboration between Light Collective in the UK and PhotoActivate in New Zealand. Centred around a poem by UK poet Ford Dagenham, the first Many Hands Make Light Words is part of a series of community created light installations that will be taking place around the world and led by Light Collective. In Wellington, PhotoActivate and their dedicated team made the project come alive. Together, both teams invited Wellington LUX visitors

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Groups of Wellington LUX visitors were encouraged to write about light, using light. Each word written was photographed and projected onto a building façade for all to enjoy.

to help create a piece of text about light using light, encouraging groups of passers by to each write a word in light writing.

Each image was photographed and projected onto a building façade so that the participants could see their contribution magnified. Each word was combined together after the festival to create a huge image and a film containing all the photos and therefore all of the participants.

This large scale community light art piece stands as a legacy of everyone's involvement after the festival was concluded. People literally became part of the picture and by participating, an integral part of Wellington LUX. The poem I Love Lamp was created by

maverick poet Ford Dagenham and features a huge number of quotes from popular and classical culture, including: the Rolling Stones, Prince, The Kinks, Gladiator, Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin, Phillip Pullman, The Clash, Sonic Youth, Pink Floyd and many more.

The festival showcased a fantastical array of high quality light sculptures that wound their way through an urban light trail within the city’s laneways and spilled out into a promenade of light installations along the waterfront. These were accompanied by talks from national and international artists, designers, and researchers; pop up exhibitions and installations; and free activities. LUX was also fortunate to showcase the work of

leading practitioners including Ruari Glynn, Kimchi and Chips, Anti VJ, Visual System, Squidsoup, James Nizam, Nonotak, Kit Webster and HC Gilje.

The next Many Hands Make Light Words will take place as part of the Aberdeen Light Festival Spectra in February 2016 and will feature the work of 250 school children. www.lightcollective.net www.photoactivate.co.nz

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ART & DESIGN / MYCUP, LONDON, UK

WAR on WASTE Commissioned for Earth Day by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Create London, MyCup is a light installation that educates and inspires employees to recycle at work.

Pics: Simon Kennedy

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Lighting technology has undergone a disruptive change since the introduction of LEDs. The desire for energy efficient lighting is putting more pressure on making LEDs ever-present in buildings and around cities.

This has led to the idea of smart lighting, which lies at the convergence between an internet of things and LED technology.

By connecting lighting using the protocols and languages of the web, an internet of light can be created. As light is everywhere, it can be used as an infrastructure to unlock hyperlocal services inside and outside buildings. For instance, it can distribute sensors and communication devices inside buildings and around a city. By coupling microcontrollers and proximity-based connectivity and communication, light sources can become aware of themselves and their surroundings, with which they can interact and develop an emerging behaviour. This would allow the creation of buildings where lighting systems adapt parameters to keep a state of visual equilibrium with the environment and occupants.

Arup and Xicato recently put this thinking into action in a lighting installation called MyCup. The project was in the form of an

interactive light sculpture, installed at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch London corporate headquarters at No.2 King Edward Street.

Designed and installed by a collaborative team formed by Create London, William Bondin, Francois Mangion and Ruairi Glynn from the Interactive Architecture Lab at University College London’s Bartlett School of Architecture and Francesco Anselmo from Arup, it was launched for World Earth Day in April 2015 as part of an initiative to stimulate reflection about the planet's personal and collective waste streams.

Waste generation is usually discussed on mass but MyCup brought awareness to individuals, using plastic cups as a marker.

On average, a person discards four plastic cups a day in an office environment, equalling over 8,000 cups in a decade.

In light of this statistic, 8,000 cups were used in the suspended six-metre diameter globe. During its six week installation, Merrill Lynch pledged to use 8,000 less cups as part of the bank’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

The lighting core at the centre of the geodesic structure illuminated the surrounding space through the filtering layer of the translucent outer envelope created

by the plastic cups. The positioning of the LEDs revealed the inner structure and the surrounding space through the glowing skin of the sphere, using a multiplicity of dynamic lighting behaviours.

The lighting core included 40 Xicato XIM modules, 1-10V version, 4,000K, controlled with 0-10V DMX dimmers. Arup developed a 3D interactive web-based interface for visitors that allowed anyone to play with the lit sculpture through an ad-hoc Wi-Fi connection. In this way, the richness of visual sensations offered by the interplay of light, darkness and reflections, both inside the sphere and in the surrounding environment, can be created by the visitors who have a direct role in shaping the sculpture’s lit behaviour.

The afterlife of the installation was also an important factor in the design and so the cups were used in workshops with local school children in discussions about waste and in building their own artworks.

For example, the structure was used at the Bartlett School of Architecture on the reEarth project and the lighting will be incorporated into ongoing research at UCL. www.arup.com www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk www.xicato.com

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art & design / Between Technology and Sensuality

Shades of Sensuality Designers have a message they work to expose. They don’t do what they do for nothing. Whether they aim to access a certain space, be it physical or theoretical, designers create with a purpose that their products exude. So what is it? What do they want to say beneath material? In the case of Moroccan feminist and lighting designer Hind Rabii, it is some delicate core between technology and sensuality that coats the shades of her designs.

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As a girl, a woman, an engineer, Hind Rabii has found herself in the world of design discovering solutions to lighting problems.

With a focus on soft lighting, she translates her gender and Moroccan heritage into a distinctive brand defined by a timeless amalgamation of culture and femininity.

Born in Rabat, Morocco, Rabii moved to Belgium to study engineering, where she felt she was at a crossroads with the many ancestral cultures and struggles of the world. “This prohibited me to be indifferent,” she tells darc, “so it has become critical for me to position myself within the feminist debate and on the topic of social justice.” Rabii felt the need to provide answers that would satisfy both herself and her customers, leading her to the conclusion that function generates form; this is now the basis of her brand, practice and technique.

Rabii’s lifelong love affair with the way light filters through fabric has been a continuous source of inspiration to her, leading to what she terms “the technical transcription of the lyricism” of her life as a young girl and as a woman. This approach has led to her exhibiting collections such as Belle D’I (pictured) at events such as Euroluce, marking a new stage in her career as she continues to march ahead with the development of the Hind Rabii brand.

As a self-aware, independent woman, Rabii is conscious of the role that she can and will play within contemporary society.

Between technology and authenticity, her collections testify to an inexhaustible desire of creation to achieve the essential: emotion. To illustrate the importance these attributes hold in her heart, and their relevance in contemporary society, she presents her emotion and practicality in design through elegant and sober lines that create a signature of their own. www.hindrabii.net

Pics: Nicholas Schimp

Belle D’I To exemplify her sensual and intelligent design ethos, the Belle D’I collection has been created in collaboration with designer Luc Vincent, who also finds inspiration in iconic timeless shapes from both Morocco and Europe. “By changing the proportion of the lights, it not only helps you focus on the aesthetics but also to achieve quality lighting,” comments Rabii.

The Belle D’I collection is a harmonious combination of glass, textiles, aluminum,

colours and materials, and was also the beginning of a large and varied range that has gone a long way in defining the brand’s aesthetic. “My collaboration with Luc Vincent has encouraged me towards this direction,” says Rabii. “Together we analyse my aspiration for the brand as well as designing the catalogues and the brand’s website.”

Rabii and Vincent have created a graceful design in glass with a timeless air of

Moroccan culture and heritage. “The sensual hips of this model make it quite unique,” described Rabii, with the basic shape defining its prioritisation of use and material. Available in two sizes, there are four Belle D’I collections for 2015; Belle D’I, Belle D’I Chic, Belle D’I Tech and Belle D’I Pleated. Each of these collections exhibit the technicality and intelligent feminism that is integral to the Hind Rabii brand.

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art & design / Focusing on Functionality and Beauty

Watch and Learn Arturo Álvarez has from a young age been an advocate of observation and experimentation. From scattered beginnings to ethereal compositions, Alvarez is now an internationally renowned designer with his own brand as well as independent works recnogisable for their otherworldly qualities and stylistic innovation.

Born in the countryside of Galicia, northwest Spain, designer Arturo Álvarez moulded his career from the beauty of the Atlantic forest, the extraordinary sea and surrounding mountain ranges. He was an observant child, an autodidactic learner from the start, making his own toys and experimenting with any object that fell into his hands.

Having first been introduced to the mechanics of lighting while working at a furniture factory in the field of electric maintenance and assembly, his pull towards lighting design began with a curious exploration of the Tiffany technique, based on American artist Louis Comfort Tiffany’s work with stained glass and lamp design.

“Working in lighting happened by chance.

I consider it a way of expression like any other. I could have chosen to make jewellery, furniture or clothes… I’m attracted to lamps because of their light; they shine.” said Álvarez. His career blossomed with time and through the public’s positive reception of his work. Álvarez is now the lead designer of

his own design brand, arturo alvarez, comprised of himself and other designers. Together they have created a laboratory of ideas, combining ingenuity, innovation and technical experimentation with the philosophical ideals of the company’s ethos.

From tactile beginnings, Álvarez has developed an ethereal and organic style, while maintaining that his products must be able to adapt to any kind of project in a harmonious way, adding value to and highlighting a project as a whole. With his signature style, Álvarez pays no attention to trends, finding them “restrictive and frivolous”. In his work, he combines functionality with beauty through the varying textures and transparencies of form and material. He absorbs and exudes a professionalism that searches for different paths and explore new languages of expression through experimentation, consequentially.

This signature style can be seen throughout his projects, a more recent and notable one having taken place in Porto, Portugal at the InSpiritum music festival. A piano and violin

Pic: Xoan Piñón

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art & design / Focusing on Functionality and Beauty

Pic: Héctor Santos-Díez

Pic: Andrés Fraga

Pic: Xoán Piñon

concert resounded through a magnificent historic building in which arturo alvarez’s lamps harmoniously blended with the surroundings and musicians. Álvarez’s work has also been displayed as visual art as part of a collective exhibition in a contemporary art museum alongside other artists.

All the accumulated experiences of his life have influenced his career to shape his work into what it is today. “The landscapes, my travels, the people I meet, animals, the marvellous textures of nature… My home and studio are full of branches, seeds, leaves, shells and stones,” he said. Inspired by all things natural, Álvarez most admires Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, commenting: “I’m impressed by his experimentation in different trades and how he integrated a variety of techniques in architecture.”

Pic: Héctor Santos-Díez

In his own work, Álvarez pertains to the same ideals stemming from natural inspiration to experiment with unlimited creativity and lack of boundaries. “That for me is very important and sets an example to follow.”

Looking ahead, Álvarez aims to evolve as a creator, making pieces that transcend the utilitarian in order to create other relationships with the public, to open other dialogues and paths of reflection. Referring to pieces such as the Encontros illuminated figures, or the use of shadow in Conversas, “I see myself going deeper into this field in years to come,” commented Álvarez.

As part of this development, a recent project saw him patent his own material, SIMETECH, a handmade material composed of a stainless steel mesh with a silicone

covering application. Álvarez continues to explore textures and delve into new materials, “an aspect of my work I truly enjoy.” Seeing infinite possibilities in all his projects, Álvarez thrives off unpredictable exploration and expression of light. “I will go on working, researching and exploring, just like when I was a child.” www.arturo-alvarez.com

Top Left Caos collection lamps in “dezanove house” by architect Iñaki Leite. Poboa do Caramiñal, Spain. Top Right Encontros, consisting of antrhopomorphic figures that glow internally with LED illumination. Bottom Left Conversas. Exhibition “Ef facta est lux”.

MAC. Gas Natural Fenosa Museum. A Coruña, Spain. November, 2014. Bottom Right Arc, table lamp, in the remodeling of the restaurant at the mines of San Finx designed by 2es+ architects.

Lousame, Spain.

Photo: mondomoment by E. Teal Brogden, Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design Photographed by E. Teal Brogden

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art & design / the india story, kolkata

THROWING LIGHT ON THE INDIA STORY mondo*arc india visits The India Story, an exposition that brought together a profusion of artists, designers, gourmet practitioners, performers and musicians, to discuss, share and display their idea of the story of India.

Pic: Rajesh Gupta

The India Story (TIS) meticulously set out to curate the latest in the Indian art and culture scene. Set against a backdrop of Swabhumi, Kolkata played host to the first edition of The India Story. With approximately 80 participants from across the country, the intent of the festival was to bring together the very best of contemporary Indian design and the art fraternity.

Ideated by Madhu Neotia and Abhilasha Sethia, and curated by Swarup Dutta and Nil (of the design duo Dev and Nil) the event painstakingly showcased everything we adore about the Indian culture. It offered an insight into the national fashion, art, music, culinary and design principles under one umbrella, setting it apart from other traditional literary and cultural festivals. “This format was yet unexplored; however that is what made it possible to dream big, as the canvas was actually blank and anything could be made conceivable. It was a daunting task to find the right sensibilities to match them,” says Neotia.

With the massive mythical ‘Horse-Tiger’ standing guard at the entrance gates,

the heritage park had been given a major makeover. Stalls, stages, restaurants, and installations by India’s finest artists and designers dotted the space, accentuating the vernacular ambience with multiple courtyards and slight level changes; coming together as a glorious scenic art village.The India Story Mad House Pub by Nil grabbed our attention. Housing numerous installations that ranged from light fixtures made of corrugated cardboard sheets that cast warm hues of light onto the bar counter, to colorful cows painted with Bollywood posters, this corner was quirky at its best.

The large exhibition hall capped with a semicircular dome and lined with jute fabric, housed works of young upcoming designers such as Naushad Ali, Antar-Agni and Manreet Deol. Leading to an open square, one was confronted with a series of small stalls showcasing eminent designers like Ritu Kumar, Anamika Khanna, Wendell Rodericks, Abraham and Thakore, and Kiran Uttam Ghosh.

Exhibitions apart, there were a few symposia and panel discussions that addressed many

pertinent issues concerning the Indian design industry, one being ‘Indian Interior Design: An Identity Crisis’. Moderated by Manju Sara Rajan, the panelists hailed from the fields of interior, product and lighting design; namely, Aashish Shah, Gautam Seth and our very own publisher, Amit Gupta. The discussion brought to light how various strands of the industry need to be integrated in order to develop a unique signature for Indian design, which is not purely culture driven.

Iterating the fact that Kolkata was probably the most apt venue for TIS, being seeped in culture and exposed to art and design; Gupta claimed, “TIS will definitely help establish a design identity for the country.

In this day and age we need to stop selling ‘Exotic India’ and get more global with our design concepts,” However the question remains, will we?

With a plethora of art, design and products exhibited at The India Story, it was a pleasure to identify numerous designers working with variegated ideas of light. We look closely at some of these works. www.theindiastory.in

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Pic: Courtesy Amaya

Ayush Kasliwal’s Trinetra lamps are a trio of hand hammered bowls inspired by Lord Shiva’s third eye of enlightenment.

A modern twist to the Thathera craft of Jaipur, the lamps appear as almond shaped eyes, aglow with a flame contained in the marble tea light holder. All three pods can be displayed strung together with hanging rods, or even as single installations. www.anantayadecor.com

Pic: Jeremy Carroll

Manifest Design launched their new collection of jewelry called Alive. Unlike any other product in the market they set out to prototype the first of its kind wearable technology in collaboration with Sunsprite. Elegantly designed and masterly crafted, the pendants encompass within them a device that tracks one’s daily exposure to sunlight and UV rays. www.manifestdesign.in

Pic: Rajesh Gupta

The Luce Naga collection by Scarlet Splendour takes inspiration from its name, wherein Luce means light in Italian and Naga means a serpent in Hindi. Matteo Cibic designed this collection in his typical style of soft, fluid lines. The light installation captures the plasticity of the serpent’s movement in fine ceramic. The sinuous gold and white lights topped with hand blown covers over 5 Watt LED bulbs

are an astonishing mix of playfulness and luxe. The exquisite Italian ceramic light fitting, finished in 24k gold is available in a plethora of delightful forms and modules that are free standing or can be mounted on the wall. www.scarletsplendour.com

Pics: Joseph M Daniel

The latest creation by Lekha Washington, for Ajji is conceptualized around a system of tangible organisms made of stainless steel, and is known as the Kiku Chandelier.

With adjustable arms that can be bent in myriad ways, the installation takes shape as a giant atom like structure. The dramatic form allows for diverse compositions catering to varied spaces and aesthetics, its multifarious arms stretching across a

vast volume or curling into a condensed pastiche. The possibilities of displaying the installation are literally quite endless giving complete creative control to its user essentially democratizing its design. www.lekhawashington.com

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art & design / block.buster, new delhi

UNBLOCKING THE URBAN FABRIC mondo*arc india and STIR in association with Collaborative Architecture present BLOCK.BUSTER, an exhibition of works by German architect and artist Juergen Mayer H., at the vis a vis Experience Centre in New Delhi.

Juergen Mayer H.

Pics: mondo*arc india

With the rapid growth of the Indian economy, an increasing exposure to global construction technologies, greater awareness of style vocabularies and an enhanced receptivity towards ingenious ecologies, the world seems to be shrinking and fusing design sensibilities. In order to provide an arena for dialogue, an exchange of creative ideas, and bring international design to the country, mondo*arc india and STIR, along with Collaborative Architecture, the collaborating partner of J Mayer H., presented BLOCK.BUSTER, an exhibition that showcased the works of acclaimed German architecture firm J Mayer H. and Partners.

With a special focus on the intersection of architecture, communication and new technology, and as activators of public space, their work re-evaluates the

urban environment. Their concentrated investment in expanding the material of architecture and the boundaries of the discipline gives way to the evolution of new media and new materials, which redefine our understanding of space as a platform for communication and a catalyst for socio-cultural interactivity. Busting the typical city block and creating interesting social interaction spaces, the exhibited works highlighted some of Mayer’s impressive residential, public space and institutional projects as well as some artworks.

Curating the show at the vis a vis Experience Centre, the display was kept simple to allow for the large gallery space to speak for itself and viewers to witness the architectural spectacle of Mayer’s work with an uninterrupted vantage. A staid

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geometric pattern in bold black lines, derived from Mayer’s peculiar design vocabulary that ran across the blanched gallery walls was the perfect backdrop for his complex architectural forms printed on large panels.

Maintaining focus on the continuous band of works, the lighting scheme was designed as a soft wash that wrapped the banners in a warm hue. Using ERCO spots in oval floods, the illuminated zone was contained within the line graphic to maintain low levels of ambient light and a gentle visual atmosphere.

While the viewer walked around the periphery witnessing a sequence of creation from one project to another, the delicately assembled models occupied the centre of the display area. Facilitating views from all sides, the models were illuminated with dedicated LED spotlights from ERCO

suspended from tracks overhead.

Working with the basic principles of soft accent light, greater contrasts for the exhibits and creating a considered hierarchy of perception, the lighting intent aimed to attract, orient and retain the observer in the space.

On the opening night if the exhibition was not intriguing enough, a presentation

by Juergen Mayer H. himself on the Metropol Parasol was inspirational. He spoke passionately about how one must be convinced of an intervention that they propose, and that it might be feared or face rejection at first; however, eventually if approached in the correct manner, it can and most definitely becomes an integral part of the city fabric. He stressed on the fact that socio-cultural interactions need to

be promoted in the heart of our cities, and art and architecture is the most effective tool to push this envelope further.

BLOCK.BUSTER garnered much critical acclaim from the art, architecture and lighting industry as many eminent personalities form the fraternity gathered together to celebrate ingenious design at the helm of global style. Distinguishing architecture through the looking glass of an international firm, the relationship between the human body, technology and nature that forms the background for a new production of space was discussed and debated enthusiastically. www.jmayerh.de www.collaborativearchitecture.com www.stir.lighting www.visavisindia.com

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art & design / Fibre fables, New delhi

IMAGINATION IS THE TRUE MAGIC CARPET Myna Mukherjee writes about Fibre Fables, a collaborative exhibition between contemporary artists and carpet weavers.

Garbh, Puneet Kaushik Pics: Courtesy Fibre Fables

‘Fibre Fables’, an exhibition produced by the Raj Group, an industry leader in carpet manufacturing is ambitious both on scale and imagination. A collaborative venture between 11 pairs of contemporary artists and traditional craftsmen and weavers, the show features ensemble works of art created over a year’s time using traditional methods of weaving, tufting, kilim, dyeing and printing on one hand and ranging from installations, sculptures, photo manipulations, video and sound art on the other. The body of works curated by Shailin Smith, form an almost semiotic analysis of the industry, an insider’s fragmentation of a whole, a fascinating deconstructivism of sorts.

The very modernist Stainless Gallery served as perfect foliage to amp the larger more industrial scale works that the exhibition

Roots, Puneet Kaushik

housed. The muted pools of light on the artworks succeeded in creating a synchronous flow of disjoined spaces within the gallery. At times enveloping and at others infiltrating through the permeable surfaces, the light illuminated not just the art works, rather it charted a path that was characterized by a welcome unpredictability and a sense of controlled chaos.

Somewhat similar to Andy Warhol’s transformation of the Coca-cola bottles, most of the works use the notion of the ‘carpet’ as an object of everyday consumption to springboard for artistic alteration. Dhvani Behl uses pit loom weaves, generally used to create bathmats, and instead transforms them to oversized wool and wire sculptures. One of them ironically titled ‘Thought’, and shaped as

a wide mouthed non-rectilinear snake, draws the viewer into its hollow tunnel at the entrance of the exhibition and perhaps demonstrates the act of ‘transformation’ that can so extraordinarily change the visual impact, aesthetics and meaning of something as ordinary as the bath mat.

Puneet Kaushik’s three abstract installations titled ‘Garbh’ (Womb), ‘Roots’ and ‘Reels’ have an expressionist sense of fragmentation and emphasis on reading the ‘monument’. The monument in this case is of course the carpet again. Kaushik’s interest in subverting the functional and manipulating what is on the surface is evident as he distorts and dislocates elements to create new structures that unveil and envelop at the same time.

Mirrors, metallic cords, cotton, steel

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Thought, Dhvani Behl

and wire are tufted and woven to create impossible new layered canvases using the carpet’s original skin as reminiscent but only as a starting point. Garbh morphs into an amniotic well, Roots slithers into a cascading waterfall of steel, and Reels surprises with tiny video screens that peep out of stackable round yarns of thread.

Tucked away in a nook was one of my favourite works, a sound installation by Abeer Gupta that veers away from the much treaded visual, and instead engineers an evocative new narrative of experiential sound - the whispers of the craftsmen, the shuffle of their feet, or the tinkling of bangles on their wrists. Together they bring alive the process of the weave, the tuft, the heft and other sounds of the factory, even the humanity of the workers.

Nidhi Khurana’s ‘A City with a Heart: Panipat’ quite literally recreates a small city to journey through, its walls and streets defined by cartographic standing prints and panels using different techniques like screen and chromojet printing, braiding, embroidery etc. Durga Kainthola investigates history through her Portraits of the Rulers that depict Mughal emperors Babur and Akbar and the Maratha Baji Rao Peshwa, all of who participated in different eras in the battles fought at Panipat.

There are photo documentaries by Sandeep Biswas that give testimony to the worker’s lives. ‘Yarns of Hope’ by Brahm Maira uses photo manipulation of an archival print on canvas.Other artists include Shivani Aggarwal, Nikhil Aphale, Sahaya Sharma and Vibhu Galhotra.

Using a combination of technical lighting products, vis a vis worked closely with the artists to develop a lighting scheme that was catered individually to every piece of work, adding to its independent artistic intent and creative perception. Using a sculpture lens over a narrow ERCO halogen spotlight, a crisp beam was stretched diagonally across Behl’s ‘Thought’, grazing the highly textured surface, while avoiding any spill beyond the piece.

Kaushik’s ‘Roots’ demanded to be treated as two elements in one work. The loose end of the curtain was accentuated by highlighting its open edge with a 7-degree narrow spot

aimed directly from overhead; the sharp graze of light drawing the eye up and lengthening the installation. The enclosed cylinder was targeted with a medium spot directed towards its midshaft, with light filtering through the open weave of the steel fabric to cast a layer of shadows on the wall behind.

‘Garbh’, also conceived in two elements was lit in an entirely different manner. With a crisp light concentrated between the two rings using a flexible circular LED strip in 2700K and 2500 lumen from DuraLamp, a uniform wash was contrasted with interspersed 7-degree 1 watt lensed downlights from Aldabra. The inner volume

Garbh, Puneet Kaushik

was illuminated by crossing an oval beam and a medium beam using ERCO halogen spots onto the scarlet sheath, creating myriad reflections in the facing mirror panels.

Khurana’s city map was illuminated with a combination of different light sources in varying distributions, accentuating, grazing and washing the numerous elements it composed. Other installations were also lit keeping in mind their artistic sanctity, with a conscious attempt to heighten their visual perception. www.visavisindia.com

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art & design / iald india light workshops

IALD India Light Workshops 2016 Announcing a new series of lighting workshops by the Indian Chapter of IALD in partnership with mondo*arc india.

Pic: Ayshwarya Ramakrishnan

Inspired by several workshop events like Lights in Alingsas, IES Nittany Lights and SLL Ready-Steady-Light, IALD India Light Workshops is an event that provides a chance for students and professionals in the architecture and design field to interact in an educational yet fun manner.

The students get a chance to learn how to implement good concepts using light as a critical tool, with hands-on experience and working alongside practicing professionals.

The professionals also get a chance to think beyond real-life constraints and explore the fun side of lighting by working with

unrestricted and creative students.

These workshops are being planned in different cities across India. They are focused on enabling budding architects to explore the philosophy and practice of state-of-the-art lighting technology, as well as study the relationship between light, humans and spaces. Designed as a model for teaching the lighting design process with hands-on experience, their format blends in with the busy course and workschedules of students and professionals respectively. They will be organized as 3-day events over weekends:

Day-1, Friday (evening): The evening will include a lecture and an interactive walking tour of the workshop sites selected inside the campus of an architecture or design school.

Day-2, Saturday (entire day): The morning will include gathering everyone and dividing them into teams with a mix of students and professionals. Each team will be assigned a portion of the campus along with a fixed set of luminaires. The teams will have the entire morning to develop a concept/theme and figure out how and where they want to place the luminaires to reinforce that concept.

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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Day-1 FRIDAY Lecture Interactive walking tour Site recce Day-2 Saturday Team formation Site allocation Concept development Concept mock-up Installation Presentation Day-3 Sunday Site clean up

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION Pic Patrick Gunnar Helin

Inviting students, architects, lighting designers, universities and educational institutions, vendors, brands, and all lighting enthusiasts to participate.

For details, contact: Email: amdugar@lighting-rnd.in Phone: +91-9445549567 Web: www.facebook.com/theIALD

Pic: Rajeev Kumar

After lunch, teams will have the afternoon to mock-up their ideas. In the evening, the teams will install the lighting and present their concepts, followed by dinner.

Day-3, Sunday (morning): Clean up of the sites.

All lighting enthusiasts are welcome to be a part of these workshops in various roles. Schools of architecture and design in different cities across India can participate as workshop hosts. Students of these schools can formulate the teams. Practicing architects and designers can volunteer as workshop heads of these teams. Lighting

manufacturers, suppliers and vendors can participate as luminaire toolkit and meal sponsors. And last but not the least, lighting designers can participate as workshop coordinators within their respective cities.

IALD India’s (one of the newest IALD Region) first major event and in association with mondo*arc india, IALD India Light Workshops 2016 comes soon after the valid success of IALD Chase the Dark 2015.

IALD India and mondo*arc india invite you to join us and become a part of this educational yet fun initiative! www.facebook.com/theIALD

Far Left Workshop: Shine-a-Light 2012, Chennai, India Workshop participants: Students of Anna University and Hindustan University Workshop team-sponsor / technical-head: vis a vis / Amit Gupta Top Workshop: Lights in Alingsas 2014, Alingsas, Sweden Workshop head: Dr. Amardeep M. Dugar, Lighting Research and Design Bottom Workshop: Significance of Lighting 2012, Chandigarh, India Workshop host: Chandigarh College of Architecture

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TECHNOLOGY & EVENTS / CASE STUDY

Five Sense Store British designer Tom Dixon appeals to all the senses in an alternative shopping experience in the Selfridges Multiplex pop-up department store during London Design Festival.

A multi-sensory pop-up department store of the future held in the Old Selfridges Hotel, London, Tom Dixon’s Multiplex brought together design, technology and fashion to explore how the future of retail might look, sound, smell, taste and feel. Put together in just eight weeks, Multiplex coincided with monumental events on London’s creative calendar including London Fashion Week, London Design Festival, the FBI London Film Festival and the Frieze art fair.

Multiplex hosts a new kind of retail space where powerful experiences, bespoke services and unique products come together in the raw energy of the west end rush, shrouded in that inescapable London grit.

The 25,000sq.ft site attached to the Selfridges department store in central London hosted a range of events, installations, pop-ups and interventions, acting as a magnet for Londoners and the creative who flock to the capital across this month. Entering into what was once the lobby of the Old Selfridges hotel, the walls were shrouded in silver emergency blankets,

lending an air of photographic glamour to the space. Visitors then continued up the staircase where the light from Tom Dixon’s Etch Shade Black pendants glisten against the metallic walls, leading up to the open plan department store space.

With Fin Round pendants illuminating the gift-wrapping space to the right of the stairs, the floor opens up into the Tom Dixon display section in the centre, surrounded by fashion, print, technology, and media areas, as well as other experiences for the senses.

The newest of Tom Dixon’s releases included the Lens pendant, an additional brass finish to the Etch collection, and the Etch Web pendant. Lens is the latest output in Tom Dixon’s fascination with geometry and luminosity. A 60cm clear polycarbonate globe made of twelve pentagonal components subdivided into five prismatic triangular lenses explode and project the light source in all directions. Inspired by the Fresnel lens used in lighthouses to concentrate and cast light over vast distances, the result is an object that is

reminiscent of science fiction and geological rare crystal, engineered to stand alone as a statement piece.

The Etch Web is a space filling shade made from photo-etched sheets, designed to cast atmospheric angular shadows when lit. Another experiment in the Tom Dixon affair with geometry and mathematics, the pentagon shape of Etch Web is repeated 60 times across the body to create a total sphere. Also available in stainless steel, the pendant is best featured in a central position to make the ultimate shadow play pendant.

Amongst the other brands displayed at Multiplex was UK lighting design consultancy Elektra. Utilising a series of event light fittings to add drama to the space through contrast, Elektra enhanced the industrial character of the hosting space while bringing in the foreground the products on display. The developed scheme encompassed moments of light and darkness to intensify the purposeful multi-sensorial experience.

New Zealand designer Resident also

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Pics: Peer Lindgreen

Previous page Mirror Ball Gold pendants adjescent to food hall Top Beat Collection suspended in the foreground, while Melt pendants feature behind.

Left Etch Web, Etch Shade, Mirror Ball, Melt Chrome and Plane chandelier are all suspended from metal framework to illuminate the space.

embarked on the month long exhibition with Multiplex, presenting their Openhouse exhibition within the department store.

Openhouse was a bold representation of Resident’s most progressive lighting designs, all of which were characterised by bold materiality and fabrication. Special features included their first major unveiling of the Mesh Space Pendant and Mesh Space Wall Lights. These perforated aluminium lights are constructed around a seamless floating halo of LED light which, when arranged in series produced a spectacular scene. Other highlights included the popular Geometric Hex, Cross and Tri Pendants, creating a

conversation with the geometric shapes found in Tom Dixon’s pieces.

This the third occasion that Resident and Tom Dixon have collaborated on international events, thus reinforcing both brands shared passion for bold and innovative lighting design.

An essential element in any desirable department store, Multiplex also featured a food hall, described as the ‘take-away takein’ restaurant where food could be ordered from 30 different restaurants and delivered from food delivery company Deliveroo.

Guests enjoyed dining in the Tom Dixon food hall in a sophisticated take-away dining

environment under the illumination of Tom Dixon’s Beat pendant collection.

The Multiplex department store truly did appeal to all the senses, reinventing what it means to shop in an age when the virtual retail world is rapidly encroaching.

If Multiplex is the future of shopping, the internet cannot compete with the pull of a glorious scent, the shadow play of a geometric lamp shade, or the physical immersion of walking through spaces into which designers have expelled the creative contents of their inspiring minds. www.tomdixon.net www.resident.co.nz

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TECHNOLOGY & EVENTS / CASE STUDY

Projected Façade Lighting design practice Brainwave Designs in collaboration with SGM develop a tailored LED solution to create a dynamic façade lighting system for the Parshwanath Group.

Pics: Jignesh Solanki / JJ Films

Drawings: Brainwave Designs

Positioned along the corner of the Prahladnager and S.G. highway, the Parshwanath Business Park is not just a new landmark but also a new lightmark for Ahmedabad. Lighting designer, Sushant Surve of Brainwave Designs was tasked with crafting a dynamic façade lighting installation for this commercial space.

Designed by Apical Reforms, the building can be volumetrically divided into two sections, the base being a framed podium that shoulders a glass box with protruding fins overhead.

The elevated façade was conceptualized as an undulated skin that envelopes the building. To add fluidity to the form these

fins were given a ripple effect based on preset parameters using computational softwares. At a specific time in the day, when the sun angles are right, the surface imitates the effect of sunlight on water.

This delicate rippled effect can be observed from different viewing angles that provide diverse interpretations of this surface.

The fins are quintessentially governed by the local climate and environment; while providing partial shade to the glass façade and reducing heat gain, the fins also minimize dust collection.

Playing with the strong vertical design language, Surve’s lighting intent was to create an animated frontage while

employing a rhythm like effect to the built envelope. Avoiding direct interference with the glass fins of the façade, he chose to step away from the structural form and illuminate it from a distance. With a desire to transform the building from day to night, he set up two poles eight meters away from the front edges, at the corners of the built form; and mounted them each with one G-spot fitted with gobos, and two Q-7s, both SGM LED luminaires. Sourced from Lightlabs, the G-spots were specially selected for their flexibility. The IP65 rated RGBY LED moving-head spot supports many features like colour changing along with animation, zoom in zoom out, 17000

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lumens, colour temperatures ranging from 2000K to 10000K, as well as pan tilt 540 degree to 270 degree. The Q-7 fixtures were used for features like wireless DMX control, 28000-lumen output and a wide flood beam. Using LED fixtures also assured high lumen yield and low energy consumption. By placing the light masts at the corners of the building, Surve ensured there was no light spill inside the building and the occupants were not inconvenienced with a direct glare.

Furthermore, the entire lighting system was maintained to be highly cost efficient. The simple yet innovative solution employed merely six fixtures to illuminated 2500

sq.m. of building surface.

For the podium level, the design revolved around indirect lighting. The driveway was lit by casting light on its peripheral vertical surfaces. A vertical green wall installation flanking one side was washed with surface mounted 35W metal halide adjustable down lights. The facing boundary wall was fitted with a series of inverted C channels housing 18W OSRAM LED strips that wash light onto the wall. The entrance canopy, also made with glass fins was highlighted using 6W LED up-lights for linear definition.

“As a designer the main intent was to achieve the determined concept within a modest budget without sacrificing the

design intent. We wanted to create a rhythm while lighting the façade and the G-Spot provided this dynamism,” explains Surve.

As the onlooker travels from far towards the building, different vantage points offer a variety of experiences, and they witness a transformation in the visuals of the fins as well as the lighting. This kinetic façade incorporates a delicate wash to induce a glint on the ripples. The architectural language and lighting philosophy merge poetically together to render an exceptional encounter. www.sgmlight.com www.brainwavedesigns.in

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TECHNOLOGY & EVENTS / CASE STUDY

lighterature ERCO has relit Dussmann das KulturKaufhaus in Berlin to create a homely atmosphere for guests to indulge in literature and music.

Established almost two decades ago, Dussmann das KulturKaufhaus in Berlin is upgrading its in-store design experience with a new ERCO LED lighting system.

KulturKaufhaus is proud of a good growth rate, encouraging its management to invest in a store upgrade, with light as central to the new concept. As planning got under way in 2013, several lighting suppliers were invited to present their design solution in an on site mock-up. The quality and longevity of ERCO luminaires were chosen, as Managing Director of KulturKaufhaus Julia Claren explained: “Significant investment costs would easily be compensated by the efficiency of the ERCO lighting solution.”

Claren’s main concern regarding the lighting was to use light to create a pleasant ambience for customers and staff, but also to prioritise the presentation of merchandise on the shop floor. The store boasts a culturally wide array of books, CDs, DVDs and sheet music across 7,000sqm divided over five floors. “Books and CDs are products that shoppers like to examine and this must be possible without tiring influences,” explained Claren.

A critical aspect was optimised visual comfort to facilitate reading, requiring light that offers precise colour rendering, efficient glare control and a consistent

colour temperature. Claren also wanted the light in the store to subdivide the extensive space by defining separate zones that facilitate orientation and create hierarchies of attention.

With this in mind, the lighting concept was based on vertical illuminance to achieve optimal illumination of the considerable shelf space. Dynamic accent lighting with efficient ERCO spot and oval flood distribution sets off individual zones and merchandise displays. Throughout the store, the concept deploys just three luminaire ranges: Light Board, Logotec and Quintessence downlights, with each luminaire emitting a warm, white light.

Previously, KulturKaufhaus had followed the principle of brightness at all costs, resulting in diffusion and insufficiently differentiated light that failed to set off the diversity of products in all their detail. Meanwhile, the new concept enables a controlled use of light, illuminating only and precisely the target surfaces with optimised illuminance levels as well as superior light quality. As well as demonstrating once more the power of light to draw attention instinctively onto the products, the meticulously aimed light contributes to a pleasant, homely atmosphere in the upgraded store. www.erco.com

Pics: Rudi Meisel

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synchrolight ETC light art adorns Tilikum Crossing to create the Bridge of the People across Orgeon River.

Pic: TriMet

Spanning the Willamette River in Orgeon, US, lies a confluence of nature, light, art, engineering and architecture. Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People, is the first new bridge in the Portland area in 40 years.

Accessible only by pedestrians, cyclists and public transport, the eye-catching spectacle was designed and lit to emphasise the importance of the river to the city.

San Francisco-based architect and designer of the bridge Donald MacDonald commented: “I’ve always made sure that a bridge evolves out of the community, the environment that it’s in.”

Tilikum Crossing was designed to integrate compelling architecture and dynamic river conditions with a thrilling display of light art that accentuates the Portland skyline, keeping the 55-metre structure visible and changing throughout the night.

The system design, crafted by Reyes Engineering in Portland, involves a lighting system that alters the bridge’s lighting effects. As environmental data is collected

by US Geological Survey equipment, it is translated by specialised software designed by programmer Morgan Barnard. That software triggers a series of commands to an ETC Ion Remote Processor Unit (RPU), which executes a series of cues programmed specifically for each of those changing conditions.

The late San Francisco artist Anna Valentina Murch and her husband Doug Hollis were commissioned to compose the lighting effects that adorn the bridge structure after dark. Murch’s design called for an aesthetic lighting scheme that would change with the behaviours of the Williamette.

Water temperature determines the base colour, while river speed affects the timing of colour changes and intensity shifts that move the light across the bridge. River depth is conveyed by a secondary colour pattern that transitions on the crossing’s two towers and array of suspension cables.

Jon Friedemann of HL Stearns, ETC’s representative in Portland, originally worked on the project as a control gear and system engineering task. But once Murch discovered the diverse colour offerings of ETC Selador Desire LED fixtures, the decision came easily to award ETC the lighting package as well.

“Colour was the centrepiece of Anna Murch’s lighting design,” explained Friedemann. “Only the D40 XTI offered a colour palette broad enough to bring her artistic vision to life.” Fortunately, ETC’s US manufacturing operations offered full compliance with the project’s ‘Made in America’ requirements.

Unmatched colour capability, paired with Ion RPU control and a season field service team

meant the through line of the Reye’s system design was set. 178 Desire D40 XTIs, a series of DMX opto-isolation repeaters in outdoor enclosures, and over 4.5km of data cable complete the lighting system and integrate it with the collected river data.

Since bridge workers were not allowed to work at night, the D40s were focused by mounting a rifle scope to each fixture, allowing them to be aimed at specific points on the structure. Programming was another hurdle, with logistics and support provided by ETC dealer Hollywood Lights.

At night by the riverside, Tervor Burk of Visual Noise Creative in Los Angeles, working alongside ETC technical support engineer Josh Selander, programmed cues on a Gio console ina rented recreational vehicle – their lodging and control booth for the three consecutive nights of programming.

“It was a small price to pay,” said Karl Haas, ETC’s architectural national sales manager, “to see a vibrant display of light art, cast on such a breathtaking structure, programmed by one of ETC’s most adept technicians, while living in a van down by the river.”

With much fanfare, Portland held a longawaited bridge lighting ceremony on September 10, and Tilikum Crossing Bridge of the People, officially opened two days later. www.etcconnect.com

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TECHNOLOGY & EVENTS / CASE STUDY

a spot of precision Mallett Antiques’ showroom features a seamless integration of antiques and modern technology with Precision Lighting’s Evo X spotlight.

Renowned antique dealer Mallett Antiques’ latest showroom in Dover Street’s Ely House, London, UK, uses Precision Lighting’s Evo X spotlight to integrate with the listed architecture while offering the performance needed by a gallery.

British architect Robert Taylor designed the neo-classical styling of Ely House, with original features remaining intact within the interiors. The lighting scheme needed to be sympathetic to the architectural features, including breathtaking open arches and columns with defined mouldings.

The minimalist appeal and flexibility of the Evo range ensured a juxtaposition between the styling of the luminaire and the vintage interiors.

Given Mallett’s role as a commercial dealer with frequently changing inventory, the lighting solution also required adequate flexibility. The Evo range uses a bearing aided rotation mechanism allowing the luminaire head smooth rotation to focus on exhibited works. The constant torque tilt mechanism also ensures correct aim, crafted in a similar way to high-end laptop hinges with no slack. The rotation through

both the pan and tilt allows for precise focusing of the Evo X spotlights.

Architectural integration was not limited to the choice of the luminaire. While a track system was required to follow the lines of the ceiling plane, Mallett required a discreet track system that could effortlessly blend in with interiors. Precision’s Basis Track system, a low voltage system with minimal lines, was an obvious solution.

The discreet size of the system allowed it to be hidden behind the moulding work running the length of the tiled corridor.

To ensure the system was inconspicuous, the track has a bespoke white finish, complementing the similarly finished luminaires and interior décor.

The versatility of the Basis Track system was underlined by its installation over the grand staircase that leads to the first floor of the dealership. The stairwell features large mullioned windows that offer an abundance of daylight for a balanced aesthetic. Mallet uses the wide staircase landing to display freestanding works, including decorative ceramics, while the Basis Track descends over the staircase to provide the mounting

point for the Evo X luminaires. The system’s ability to be factory curved to a custom radius allowed the Basis Track to follow the internal curve of the stairwell wall; the result is that light emanating from the spotlights is discreetly positioned away from the objects to be illuminated as well as avoiding glare for those ascending the stairs to the first floor of the gallery.

The layering of the ambient daylight allowed by the large windows and the precise accent glows from spotlights creates a light aesthetic in the stairwell that draws collectors further up the Grand Staircase towards the landing. Luminaires from Precision’s sister company RCL were also specified in the front exhibition room.

RCL’s DR2 spotlight offers a flexible lighting solution that allows the luminaires to be controlled in pan and tilt from ground level via a handheld remote control. Precision has created a fresh lighting scheme to match a clean, neo-classic interior, illuminating antiques in the light that they deserve. www.precisionlighting.co.uk

Tel 44 ( 0 ) 208 348 9003 Web www.radiantlights.co.uk email david@radiantlights.co.uk

Bridge number 5, Amsterdam Lighting design by lichtontwerpers Amsterdam light festival 2014

3D LED Flex 40 IP65 - Modular, 3D flexible LED linear lighting system.

Lensed version with anti-glare snoots, custom colour paint finish and custom height brackets.

Design by

Mondo August 2015 half page.indd 1

04/08/2015 17:50:05

154

TECHNOLOGY / iald enlighten americas

time to cry for cri?

During the IALD Enlighten Americas conference, Randy Burkett, Michael Royer and Kevin Houser, IES Color Metric Task Group members, unveiled their findings for ‘TM-30-15, the IES Method for Evaluating Light Source Color Rendition’. Here is their summary of the work they have carried out.

The IES TM-30-15 colour rendition method [1, 2] consolidates and synthesises numerous research efforts that have been underway for several years [e.g. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]. It was developed by representatives of the manufacturing, specification, and research segments of the lighting industry. The work was motivated by limitations of the CIE’s general colour rendering index (Ra) [14], which have been documented by others [e.g. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19], while also drawing from and improving upon CQS, GAI, and nCRI, among others. Beyond addressing the technical limitations of past metrics, a guiding principal was that colour rendering cannot be appropriately evaluated by considering colour fidelity alone.

Fundamentally, the method is based on comparisons of colours as rendered by a given test source and a reference source, where the test and reference sources are at the same correlated colour temperature (CCT). This is a familiar approach. The new calculation methods focus on objectively and statistically quantifying fidelity and relative gamut. The basic two-measure system includes the fidelity index (Rf) and gamut index (Rg), which together allow for the evaluation of trade-offs between fidelity and saturation via a single, unified calculation engine, as well as the subjective evaluation of preference tailored to a specific application or user.

While this approach requires more user knowledge, it provides more information than a single-number preference index, and thus allows for better, customised solutions.

Beyond Rf and Rg, standardised graphical representations of colour rendition (the colour vector graphic and colour distortion graphic) are effective for quickly communicating more complex information. These additional features of the method are critical for overcoming the limitations of average performance measures, although it is recognised that simple average values are often important for commerce. Numerous sub-indices for fidelity and saturation of specific hues or specific samples may also be calculated.

A new set of 99 purposefully selected colour evaluation samples (CES), as well

the use of the CAM02-UCS, are two key features that, combined, distinguish the IES TM-30-15 method from others. The 99 CES - each represented by a spectral reflectance function - were statistically down-selected from an initial collection of more than 100,000 measured objects, which were considered to theoretically represent the world of possible colours [2]. The included colour samples represent real objects from the database, including natural objects (e.g. leaves, flowers), paints, textiles, plastics, colour system samples, and human skin. The set of CES has two distinct features: • It is uniformly distributed in wavelength space, meaning the set shows little preference for any wavelength. The test colour samples of CIE Ra have been criticised because they permit selective optimisation (sometimes called ‘gaming’) [7], which allows Ra scores to be increased or decreased by adjusting the wavelengths of light emission, with a potentially unrelated change in colour fidelity. This new set of CES prohibits such selective optimisation of Rf and Rg scores through spectral engineering.

• It is uniformly distributed in colour space, and thus fairly represents the range of objects that may be encountered in architectural environments, leading to more appropriate average characterisations. The CES cover the gamut of common interior colours.

Calculation Procedures The full calculation procedures are documented in [1] with additional explanation in [2, 22]. Two calculation tools are also available from the IES. The key features of the calculation procedure are: • Reference Illuminant. The reference illuminant - matched to the CCT of the test source - is Planckian radiation below 4500K, a proportional blend of Planckian radiation and a CIE D Series Illuminant between 4501K and 5499K, or a CIE D Series Illuminant at or above 5500K. This method prevents discontinuity at 5000K that occurs with the CIE Ra calculation.

• Colour Evaluation Samples (CES). The 99 CES were chosen from a library of

more than 100,000 real objects. The first step in the down-selection process was to limit consideration to samples with the gamut of the Natural Colour System (NCS), which was considered a better representation of objects present in typical architectural environments and is within the approximate limits for which colour difference formulas have been tested.

From the resulting set of 65,000 samples, 4,900 that provided three-dimensionally uniform coverage of the CAM02-UCS were selected. The 4,900 samples were also selected to induce overall spectral flatness, such that any particular wavelength does not unduly influence subsequent calculations [2]. Finally, a new set of 99 samples was chosen based on maximum correlation to the 4,900 samples set based on Rf and Rg; 95% of 5,000 real and modelled SPDs were within ±1.2 points.

Two of the 99 CES were forced to be skin tones, because they are of particular interest to some users.

• Range and Interpolation of Data.

Calculations are to be performed over a range of 380 to 780nm, which corresponds to the range of each CES. An increment not greater than 5nm is needed to achieve reasonable accuracy [20]; 1nm increments are preferred. The SPD of the test source should never be interpolated or extrapolated.

4. Colour Space and Colour Matching Functions. Calculations occur in the CAM02 Uniform Colour Space (UCS). The intrinsic CIECAM02 chromatic adaptation transform replaces the outdated von Kries transforms employed in the computation of CIE Ra. Calculations are performed using the CIE 1964 10° colour matching functions (CMFs), which are more representative of general viewing than the CIE 1931 2° CMFs. The 2° CMFs are only retained for the computation of CCT, since that procedure is standardised by CIE [21].

• Fidelity Index (Rf). Rf is calculated as the arithmetic mean of colour difference between the test and reference condition for the set of 99 CES, where the colour difference is calculated as the Euclidean distance in the CAM02-UCS. The mean difference is scaled by a factor of 7.54— which was determined so that the CIE

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The CIE method for measuring CRI Ra relies on just 8 colour samples contributing to the Ra value.

TM-30-15 uses 99 new colour evaluation samples (CES) to measure colour fidelity Rf with an additional measure Rg for gamut area.

F1–F12 standard illuminants have the same average Rf score as Ra score—and then subtracted from 100. A logarithmic conversion is also applied so that the minimum score is zero, making the full range 0 to 100. Fidelity scores for each of the 99 CES may also be calculated, as well as an average of the two samples representing human skin (CES15 and CES18).

• Gamut Index (Rg). To begin calculating Rg, the 99 CES are divided into sixteen hue bins, each subtending a 22.5° slice of the a'-b' plane of the CAM02-UCS. The samples are sorted based on the coordinates under the reference illuminant. Next, the average (a', b') coordinates are calculated for the samples in each bin based on the test and reference condition to form two sixteensided polygons. Rg is 100 times the ratio of the area of the polygons corresponding to the test and reference condition. As such, sources that result in an average increase in saturation have scores greater than 100, and sources that result in an average decrease in saturation have scores less than 100. There are no limits to the possible range of Rg scores, although there is a relationship with Rf such that as Rf decreases, the possible range of Rg scores increases. For Rf scores above 60, the range of Rg scores for nominally white light sources is approximately 60 to 140.

• Fidelity and Saturation by Hue (Rf,hj and Rg,hj). For each of the sixteen hue bins, a specific fidelity or chroma change value can be calculated. This information can be used to asses colour rendering of individual hues, such as red or green.

• Colour Vector Graphic. The colour

vector graphic is produced by plotting the colour difference for each of the sixteen pairs of coordinates generated for the calculation Rg. The reference source polygon is normalised to a circle. The graphic shows both hue and saturation changes in one view.

Advantages and Limitations The IES TM-30-15 method provides measures of colour fidelity and relative gamut, using a set of wavelength-neutral colour evaluation samples comprising real objects covering the full range of colours typically present in architectural interiors.

The IES TM-30-15 method also incorporates recent advances in colour science. The method does not provide a single number for colour preference, but instead provides objective information that allows users to make better design decisions. Such decisions require increased knowledge, and a change in the paradigm that a higher number is always better.

IES TM-30-15 relies on a common reference based approach, which has inherent underpinnings that must be understood to interpret results. It also includes average values, which can potentially be misleading; best practices suggest using the supplemental graphics and sub-indices.

The calculations do not consider preferred chromaticity or fluorescence/whiteness; these important aspects of colour quality should be considered separately. www.ies.org The book ‘IES Method for Evaluating Light Source Color Rendition’ is available to buy priced $50 ($35 for IES members).

References 1. [IES] Illuminating Engineering Society of North America.

2015. IES-TM-30-15 Method for Evaluating Light Source Color Rendition. New York, NY: The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America. 26 p. 2. David A, Fini P, Houser KW, Ohno Y, Royer MP, Smet KAG, Wei M, Whitehead L. 2015.

Development of the IES method for evaluating the color rendition of light sources. Opt. Expr. 23(12), 15888-15906. 3.

Sandor N, Schanda J. 2006. Visual colour rendering based on colour difference evaluations. Lighting Res. Tech. 38(3):225– 239. 4. Davis W, Ohno Y. 2009. Approaches to color rendering measurement. J. Mod. Opt. 56(13):1412–1419. 5. Davis W, Ohno Y. 2010. Color quality scale. Opt. Eng. 49(3), 033602. 6.

Rea M, Freyssinier JP. 2010. Color rendering beyond pride and prejudice. Color Res Appl. 35(6):401–409. 7. Smet K, Ryckaert WR, Pointer MR, Deconinck G, Hanselaer P. 2011. Correlation between color quality metric predictions and visual appreciation of light sources. Opt. Express. 19(9), 8151–8166.

8. Smet K, Whitehead L. 2011. Meta-standards for color rendering metrics and implications for sample spectral sets.

Proc of the 19th Color and Imaging Conference, San Jose, CA, USA. 9. Smet K, Whitehead L, Schanda J, Luo MR. 2015.

Toward a replacement of the CIE color rendering index for white light sources. Leukos. Online before print. 10. Li C, Luo MR, Li C, Cui G. 2012. The CRI-CAM02UCS colour rendering index. Color Res Appl. 37(3):160–167. 11. Houser KW, Wei M, David A, Krames MR, Shen XS. 2013. Review of measures for light-source color rendition and considerations for a twomeasure system for characterizing color rendition. Opt. Express. 21(8), 10393–10411. 12. David A. 2014. Color fidelity of light sources evaluated over large sets of reflectance samples. Leukos 10(2):59–75. 13. de Beer E, van der Burgt P, van Kemenade J. 2015. Another color rendering metric: do we really need it, can we live without it?” Leukos.

Online before print. 14. [CIE] Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage. 1995. Method of measuring and specifying colour rendering properties of light sources. 3rd ed. Vienna (Austria): CIE Publication no. 13.3:1995. 16 p. 15. Walter W. 1981. How meaningful is the CIE color rendering index?

Light Design Appl. 11(2), 13–15. 16. Seim T. 1985. In search of an improved method for assessing the colour rendering properties of light sources. Lighting Res. Tech. 17(1):12– 22. 17. Houser KW. 2002. Lighting for quality. Light Design Appl. 32(11):4–7. 18. Worthey JA. 2003. Color rendering: asking the question. Color Res. Appl. 28(6):403–412. 19.

DiLaura DL, Houser KW, Mistrick RG, Steffy GR. 2011. The IES Lighting Handbook, 10th Ed. New York, NY: The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America. 1328 p. 20. Sandor N, Ondro T, Schanda J. 2005. Spectral Interpolation Errors.

Color Research and Application 30(5): 348–353. 21. Ohno Y. 2014. Practical Use and Calculation of CCT and Duv. LEUKOS 10(1): 47–55. 22. Smet KAG, David A, Whitehead L. 2015. Why Color Space Uniformity and Sample Set Spectral Uniformity Are Essential for Color Rendering Measures. Leukos 12(1). DOI :10.1080/15502724.2015.1091356

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TECHNOLOGY / BENCH TEST

David Morgan reviews Lumino’s new ColorCORE LED technology. Producing an attractive quality of light and scoring highly for both CRI and TM-30-15, it is set to be wellreceived by the lighting design community.

Quality over quantity

Lumino started life over 30 years ago as an importer and distributor of high end European lighting brands. More recently, the business model has changed and the company is now a designer and manufacturer of custom lighting systems for architectural projects.

The change in direction has gone well and the company now has distributors in 20 overseas markets with a growing range of products including linear lighting, downlights and accent lighting. The company is run by its Founder Andrew Small and Technical Director Jago Wickers, who both studied 3D design at Ravensbourne University.

The Vector range of linear lighting systems is the largest product group, and is based on Lumino’s own high quality LED tape with aluminium extruded profiles in various shapes and sizes used for indirect and accent lighting.

The binning of the LEDs used in Lumino systems has always been very well controlled and in response to the demand from designers for higher quality LED lighting, Lumino has worked closely with its LED supplier over the past couple of years to create a new range of phosphors with improved colour rendering.

Lumino has created new LED packages in seven CCTs ranging from 4,500K cool white to 2,000K candlelight warm white with a CRI of over 90.

Lumino launched its new high CRI ColorCORE technology at PLDC in Rome with an innovative advertising campaign, using an attractive CRI chart based on common colourful objects including tomatoes, red cabbage and cocktails.

The Lumino development coincides with moves in the lighting design, engineering and scientific communities for more

accurate colour rendering metrics than the IES CRI that has not been updated since 1974.

While CRI has been useful as a general measure of colour rending quality, it is easy for manufacturers to improve their rating by boosting particular frequencies as only fourteen colours are measured.

This doesn’t necessarily produce a pleasant lit effect. When comparing two LED light sources from different manufacturers, or even two different types of LED from the same manufacturer with the same colour temperature and CRI, the lit appearance in a scene can be very different.

The IES in North America has been working to develop a new index known as TM-30-15 based on earlier work from the CIE. This new index describes light in a more complete way using a fidelity index based on 99 colours and a relative gamut index,

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Left Lumino’s new LED packages are available in seven CCTs, ranging from 4,500K cool white to 2,000K candlelight warm white with a CRI of over 90.

which describes the extent to which a light source increases or decreases the saturation of surface colours. A new graphic representation, known as the ‘colour vector graphic’, has been created that illustrates how closely the light source matches a reference illuminant.

Lumino aimed to launch its new ColorCORE technology at PLDC and planned to undertake tests based on TM-30 requirements as well as standard CRI tests and present the results at the conference.

Since TM-30-15 has been developed as a North American standard, no one in the UK at that point had experience in undertaking the required testing.

Fortunately, Lumino’s photometric test house Lux TSI was able to rapidly implement the new test protocols and produce data in time for PLDC. All of the new Lumino ColorCORE phosphors score

highly for CRI and also get very good results when tested to TM-30. It is understood that Lumino is the first UK company to present its data in a TM-30 format.

Lumino has already completed projects using the ColorCORE LEDs, including indirect cove lighting in The Ivy restaurant (see page 72) with a very warm 2,000K colour temperature that also allows good colour rendition of the food and decor.

Lumino is now working on incorporating its new phosphor technology into the other, higher power, products in the range.

The adoption of new metrics, such as TM30-15, will certainly give light source and luminaire manufacturers a more complete way of testing and presenting information about light source colour rendering quality to lighting designers and lighting engineers.

However, I suspect that practical colour appearance problems, such as mixing

LED luminaires from a variety of different manufacturers or combining LED sources with other types of light source in the same space, will persist for quite a while.

The new Lumino ColorCORE LEDs certainly produce an attractive quality of LED light and I believe that they are likely to be well-received by the lighting design and architectural community. www.lumino.lighting David Morgan runs David Morgan Associates, a London-based international design consultancy specialising in luminaire design and development and is also MD of Radiant Architectural Lighting.

Email: david@dmadesign.co.uk Web: www.dmadesign.co.uk Tel: +44 ( 0) 20 8340 4009 © David Morgan Associates 2015

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TECHNOLOGY & EVENTS / annual review

Technology expert Dr Geoff Archenhold reviews the technological innovations of 2015 – a year of industry restructure and where LED overtook traditional volume manufacturing.

2015 turns up the volume Last year saw the beginning of the lighting industry restructure with announcements from Samsung and Philips. This year was more of the same with OSRAM announcing it will spin-off its US$2.5bn general lighting business, including LED lamps and GE moving its lighting business into Current a new energy focussed business.

One could be forgiven to think that 2015 has been quite uneventful with yet more of the me-too LED lighting fixtures launched by a raft of well-known, start-up and huge but unheard of Asian lighting players. However, there has been seismic shifts within the lighting industry that will have ramifications for the lighting industry over the next few years and beyond.

Several of the key points from 2015 include: • The loss of one of the great LED pioneers; • The expansion of the general lighting industry restructure; • The rise of the Chinese superpower lighting industry; • The last remaining lighting applications fall to LED technology; • LED lighting becomes the most popular light source by volume.

Dr. Roland Haitz One of the few pioneers of the solidstate lighting revolution and an engine of innovation that inspired a generation of scientists and engineers to create the LED industry, Dr. Roland Haitz sadly passed away at the age of 80. Dr Haitz’s career in science, opto-­electronics and solid-­state lighting spanned more than 50 years, most of it while associated with Hewlett-­Packard and its offspring companies, Agilent, Avago, and Lumileds.

Although a large proportion of people in the general lighting industry may not know of Dr Haitz, those of us who have been in LED lighting for many years regard him as the catalyst for changing the lighting industry forever through both scientific excellence and political persuasion. His

Dr Roland Haitz, who died earlier this year.

predictions through Haitz’s Law – the metric he formulated – and his personal efforts in securing national funding in the US for developing a then‐nascent LED technology, helped to usher in the solid‐state lighting revolution in less than a decade.

Haitz’s Law was a fundamental stepping stone for the industry and I have constantly referred to it since my very first article for mondo*arc in 2005, initially as a way of persuading a very sceptical lighting industry that LEDs were its future as well as persuading the UK government it should devote resources to this technology. Haitz’s Law is the equivalent for LEDs and lighting what Moore’s Law is for transistors and microprocessors, stating that every decade, the amount of light output by an LED (measured in lumens) increases by a factor of 20, while the price per lumen falls by a factor of ten. In formulating this, Dr. Haitz was the first to grasp the potential for massively reduced energy consumption and correctly predicted the time‐scale and degree to which LEDs would triumph over all other lighting technologies in efficiency and cost. Like Moore’s Law, his predictions for LEDs were so accurate that they guided the investment and R&D strategies of the solid‐state industry, initiating and sustaining an ongoing transformation in lighting that has progressed from his personal vision to global revolution in the last fifteen years.

His zest for the lighting industry didn’t

wane at all and at 76 he teamed up with fellow luminaries to join a new start-up, QuarkStar, and filed over ten patents in just the last four years alone.

His last remarks on solid‐state lighting underlines the progress yet to come: “Solid‐state lighting is where the internet was in the 1980’s. Just as we could not then have predicted what the internet is now, 30 years later, we cannot foresee all that light and lighting will become in the next decades. We know simply that it will be wondrous and beautiful.”

Dr Haitz was an incredible person, father and grandfather and I truly hope history will remember him as a great pioneer of the lighting industry.

Industry restructuring The biggest news this year has been the continual restructuring of the leading industry players with key announcements from Philips, Osram and GE, all of which will change the landscape forever. The sale of Lumileds to Go Scale Capital from Asia by Philips was continuing apace until it recently hit competition fears in the US. Although the divestment is inevitable, the total spin-off of Philips lighting from group was a less expected announcement.

The latest move by Philips confirms the divestment of Lighting is moving at pace, and 2016 will be a year we will see Philips without lighting for a first time in over 100 years.

In April, Osram followed suit and announced it will be spinning off its general lighting business, including general LED lamp based lighting, into an independent company. This was again a major industry decision as in fiscal 2013/14 this business generated worldwide sales of about €2bn (US $2.15bn) or approximately 30-40% of Osram’s turnover and has over 10,000 employees. Reasons given at the time were Osram (like Philips) were trying to keep pace with rapidly rising Asian LED lighting

159 Emerging Chinese Lighting Companies

No

Company Name

Description

Listed

Revenue (FY14A)

Market Cap (€Bn)

EV/Sales (FY+1)

PE (FY+1)

1

Foshan Electrical and Lighting (Felco)

General Lighting

Yes

423

2.3

2.8

10

2

MLS (Forest Lighting)

General Lighting

Yes

552

2.2

2.7

26

2.8

29

6.3

77

0.3

19

3

Shanghai Felo

General Lighting

Yes

296

1.8

4

Shenzhen Changfang LED

General Lighting/LED Chips

Yes

128

0.8

5

CNLight

General Lighting

Yes

61

0.8

6

NVC Lighting

General Lighting

Yes

394

0.4

7

Opple Lighting

General Lighting

IPO pending

500

8

TCP International

General Lighting

Yes

445

9

San’an Optoelectronics

LED Chips

Yes

634

7.9

9.9

29

10

Leyard Opto

LED Chips

Yes

162

2.2

7.7

33

11

Guanghzhou Hongli Opto

LED Chips

Yes

141

1.1

4.7

50

12

Ledman Opto

LED Chips

Yes

56

1.1

97

13

Foshan NationStar

LED Chips

Yes

214

0.9

25

14

Shenzhen Jufei Opto

LED Chips

Yes

137

0.8

5.2

30

15

Shenzhen AOTO

LED Chips

Yes

51

0.6

8.6

63

16

Shenzhen Refond Opto

LED Chips

Yes / State

5.1

41

Average

manufacturers by spinning off less profitable general lighting businesses.

Recent updates from OSRAM indicate the division will be divested by mid-2016 and most probably sold to an Asian company as it will allow an acquirer to gain channel access overseas whilst consolidating a lowcost manufacturing in China.

I totally understand that remaining in the LED lamp industry isn’t suited to western companies due to wafer thin profit (and mainly loss) margins, a market in future decline by volume and the need to be a low cost manufacturing economy. However, I also see the impacts of transferring these large scale businesses will have future consequences on the industry we know today. Similar to when IBM sold its PC business to Levano that within a few years dominated the globe and became the world’s number one PC manufacturer!

The world’s third largest lighting company, GE, also decided to restructure its commercial and industrial LED lighting into a new energy services business called Current as part of an overarching Industrial Internet strategy. The GE Lighting brand has all but been wiped out through the rebranding to Consumer and Conventional Lighting segment that will include incandescent and fluorescent lighting as well as residential LEDs. I expect this segment of the business to be divested within the next two years with the likely acquirer being from the Asian region.

Other large players such as Acuity Brands (see below) and Zumbtobel (acdc) have been making smaller strategic investments based on either technology or project focused businesses and I see this trend

continuing as smaller businesses continue to innovate ahead of the curve and small acquisitions allow the incumbents to keep ahead of the competition.

The rise of Asian Lighting The global restructuring of lighting is creating large numbers of billion dollar Asian players, many of which are unknown in Europe or the US but if they were residents would place them in the top ten.

A selection of companies have begun to enter Western markets successfully, building brands and market share. For example, San’an Opto (Luminus Devices owner), NVC Lighting and Opple have successful bases already established in Europe but as can be seen in the above table there are many more lighting companies that are unfamiliar yet to establish themselves.

There is also a raft of new Chinese LED and lighting companies looking to float on overseas markets during 2016, all of which will be looking to put their new found equity to good use! remaining applications fall to LEDs There have been very few lighting application areas that hadn’t already succumbed to LED sources. However, 2015 has seen the removal of the last remaining light sources. It’s well known that the efficiency of T5 tubes has been tough to beat in offices but with the ferocious price erosion of LED panels, combined with advanced LED controls, the return on investment metric holding back the LED panel onslaught have been slayed forever.

In outdoor applications, LEDs also struggled to match the output of high intensity

0.1

126

0.4

270

1.5

and high power floodlights. However, this year’s Super Bowl took place under 100% LED lighting and, in the past twelve months, manufacturers who had clung to old technologies such as metal halide and cold cathode have now had to embrace LEDs! Consequently, the major manufacturers announced that the majority of their sales were derived not from traditional light sources and fixtures but from LED based systems for the first time. This rapid switch to LED based products vilifies Dr Haitz’s forecast that LEDs would reign supreme but fifteen years for a new technology to dominate an incumbent industry is very impressive.

All in all, 2015 has been a solid year of commercial growth but in terms of technology innovation there has been a relative pause as less emphasis is made on increases in efficacy and colour quality improvements. This pause will not happen for long as 2016 and 2017 will lay the foundations for major disruption in lighting that will see companies scramble to become systems providers and develop or acquire controls technology, followed by the gradual shift to data/IT companies. If you don’t think this can or will happen then just look at how GE is transforming itself into a software data company. So, if you are not already thinking about how you will deploy advance control systems that monitor how a building is being used, you could become a dinosaur overnight as you will not be able to survive on wafer thin margins that will become commoditised LED fixtures.

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Acuity Brands Acuity has been one of the most aggressive lighting companies in the market by acquiring a raft of businesses to make it one of the most dynamic and interesting companies to watch over the next few years. The acquisitions range from startups through to established players and it appears their management are navigating the market disruption well with clear strategic value creation for shareholders.

In March 2015, Acuity acquired Distech Controls Inc. from Canada - a leading provider of building automation and energy management solutions that allow for the seamless integration of lighting, HVAC, access control, closed circuit television, and related systems. The reason for the acquisition was Distech provide the digital backbone of intelligent lighting and building systems which are converging to form a platform for the Internet of Things within commercial, industrial and institutional buildings allowing.

In April 2015, start-up ByteLight was acquired, allowing Acuity to offer indoor position location systems using Visual Light Communications (VLC) and have consequently started to offer systems to large retailers such as Target in the US. In October 2015, Acuity announces the acquisition of Juno Lighting a leading provider of downlighting and track lighting fixtures for both residential and commercial applications from Schneider Electric.

Artistic Licence Artistic launched its lightJuice technology that streamlines the way power and data are delivered to IT rich environments through Power over Ethernet (PoE). lightJuice sits at the interface between the PoE supply and the device that is being controlled, such as an LED lamp. A raft of Lightjuice products are set to be launched in 2015 and 2016.

PoE is set to become a major disruptor for the lighting and electrical industry as it eliminates the AC mains wiring that conventionally powers the electrical devices within a building. This equates to significant infrastructure cost savings, particularly as network cabling is a standard feature of modern commercial buildings (and, increasingly, the high-end domestic market).

PoE also provides benefits to the end-user through an integrated, connected and reconfigurable solution that use human-safe, low voltage DC (< 60V), so cabling can be moved without the need for an electrician and because the network enables two-way data flow, devices can ‘talk’ to each other and relay status information.

Casambi Casambi, a start-up from Finland, launches a wireless light control that can work with any manufacturers’ range of existing lights, switches and sensors to enable absolute design flexibility for demanding office, retail, industrial and residential applications. Through the addition of a matchbox sized module installed behind existing light switches or in the luminaire, a system can be setup within minutes.

The modules are connected to each other automatically via Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy (BLE) to form a mesh network and can be configured with the smartphone and via a timer function in the app so illumination can be automatically adapted to the exact time when the sun rises and sets for example.

Example of how Casambi’s module is added to a system.

Cree Cree launched its latest LED technology platform SC5 to power its next generation of high brightness LED. The SC5 provides twice the light output (185 lumens at one watt) of a single LED at temperatures up to 105°C to create a new Extreme High Power class of LEDs such as the XP-L High Intensity LED - the first single-die LED to deliver over 100,000 candela with a 50mm diameter optic at 10W. The XP-L 3.45-mm x 3.45-mm package is characterised and binned at 1050 mA, 85°C, and is available in up to 90 CRI and colour temperatures ranging from 2,700K to 8,300K. In April, Cree also launched its WaveMax waveguide technology to compete against similar technologies launched by Eaton and GE. The waveguide technology offers 90% optical efficiency whilst providing high uniformity and beam control.

Cree haven’t really captured significant market share in Europe but this may change in 2016 with the appointment of Nick Farraway as Vice President and General Manager for Cree Lighting EMEA. Nick’s move from Sorraa in Europe is a hint that perhaps Cree will push its brand into the LED bulb market, which it has successfully achieved within the USA. Gooee New start-up Gooee launches its wireless RF solution based upon Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and announces it has signed

Cree’s SC-5 Technology image.

deals with seven OEM lighting partners (Architectural FX, Gerard Lighting, Interlight, Havells Sylvania, Mosaic Eins, John Cullen Lighting and Aurora Lighting).

Gooee is providing sensing, control and communication components that integrate with an enterprise scale cloud platform.

IST IST, a provider of flicker-free LED power solutions, has expanded its strategic

161

offering by launching a range of centralised Power and Ethernet LED driver solutions covering Art-Net, sACN, DALI and DMX across a versatile product range covering constant voltage and constant current solutions. The centralised driver solutions offer significant advantages compared to distributed LED drivers allowing improved system reliability, placement of drivers in easy to reach places for maintenance and allowing fixtures to be up to 300m away. The centralised concepts have been installed at several prestigious sites such as the Vienna International Conference Centre (with over 3,500 Ethernet controlled fixtures), the Dubai Opera House and Sydney Cricket Ground amongst many others.

The IST team are now working on extending the Ethernet concept by delivering a totally secure, resilient and reliable control system for large-scale projects called iMune.

LED Engin LED Engin announced LuxiTune’s colourtuneable LED product family had integrated ZigBee connectivity. LZ9 LuxiTune enables independent colour and brightness control for compact track light heads,

Havells-Sylvania’s Beacon retail fixture incorporating LuxiTune.

guarantees stable flux and CCT over the entire temperature range. The company also introduced its latest addition to the multi-colour emitter product line with the new 7-colour LZ7 geared for architectural lighting with a fuller spectrum and exceptional colours across a uniform beam angle. Presented with a 7-58° zoom mixing lens, the LZ7 emitter adds amber, cyan and violet to existing RGBW channels to achieve a richer and wider colour combination for more sophisticated mixing.

Enabled by LuxiTune, Havells-Sylvania’s Beacon Tune spotlights feature tuneable white light from a bright 4,300K down to a warm 2,100K, while maintaining high colour rendering index (CRI) with Ra90. They offer exceptionally smooth, flicker-free dimming from 100 to 0.5%

LG Innotek In September, LG announced the launch of high-power LED packages (H35C4 Series) featuring 182 lm/W efficacy, which practically achieves 152lm/W at 85°, 700mA. Through optimising ‘white conversion technology’, the lifespan of the product has increased greatly to over 150,000 hours.

LG Innotek will further stay focused on developing high performance and value product such as High Power LED Package, featuring more than 5W and UV LED. The company also has a plan to enhance its LED lighting line-up for automotive as well as mobile application.

perhaps their independence will allow a renewed focus on what the market wants moving forward. The mid-power colour solutions definitely allow human centric lighting panels to be created with ease!

Lumileds mid-power colour line-up.

Lumileds Lumileds as an independently run organisation launched a range of new products, such as the high optical power UV flip-chip emitters to the innovative LUXEON 3535L Colour Line, specifically for colour tuneable bulbs and architectural lamps that require access to high quality, single colour mid power LEDs in Red, Red-Orange, Phosphor-Converted (PC) Amber, Lime, Green and Blue.

The PC Amber LED can replace three 2,200K

Luminus In October, Luminus announced a new high efficacy 3V 3030 Mid-Power LED range, delivering 200 lm/W, 97 CRI and 2,200K Candle-Warm Options. One feature of the Luminus MP-3030-1100 family is ‘hot colour targeting’, which means that the LEDs are engineered to produce light with chromaticity tightly centred in the ANSI bin under normal operating conditions of 85°C.

LG’s H35C4 Long-life LED.

Luminus high efficacy 3030 Mid-Power LED.

LEDs in a warm dimming lamp, while also delivering best-in-class flux and best-inclass hot/cold factor (flux at 85˚C relative to flux at 25˚C). The Lime LED features a typical flux of 56 lumens (100mA, 25˚C) and a stellar efficacy of 190 lm/W, which when mixed with Red enables a warmer White light to be created compared to Off-White plus Red combinations.

In September, Lumileds launched the high power LUXEON C Colour Line of LEDs to achieve flawless colour mixing by removing the problems of beam halos and mismatched, unmixed colour by designing the platform to offer multiple colours with a single focal length. Performance of the compact LUXEON C 2x2 mm package is achieved through impressive thermal resistance substrates as low as 2.8°C/W. Lumileds seem to be focusing on the launch of a range of new solutions, including emitters and board-level solutions, and

Nanoco In 2015, Nanoco made significant strides with its Cadmium-free quantum dots (CFQD) for LED lighting, announcing a partnership with MARL that enabled the launch of the world’s first CFQD LED fixture, Orion QD - a Quantum Dot Linear Lighting solution. In July 2015, Nanoco formed a new lighting division to help accelerate the development of quantum dots for initial lighting applications, including retail and specialty, architecture and agriculture.

The advantage of CFQDs means it is possible to tune the light to exactly the emission spectrum required by controlling the size of the quantum dots. This enables the creation of a light spectrum that isn’t possible with standard phosphors, such as the world’s first Cool White Healthy lighting Ceiling Tile, having a CRI >95, R9 >90 R9, CCT of 6,500K and a total system efficiency

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TECHNOLOGY & EVENTS / annual review

> 100lm/W. A further advantage of CFQD technology is the ability to reduce the need for strict LED binning, is glare free and provides stable colour quality over time.

Quantum Dots of various sizes convert light to different colours.

OSRAM Osram launched the Oslon Black SFH 4713A, an infrared LED (IRED) with a wavelength of 850 nanometers (nm) and ideally suited to security lighting applications, such as camera-surveillance of public spaces, company premises and entrances to banks and shopping centres. From autumn 2015, the SFH 4714A with a beam angle of 150° and an optical output of 720 milliwatts enables compact and efficient security lighting.

Osram upgraded the Ostar Stage family with a new four 1mm2 chip version of the high-

planned in research and development by 2020 to include: • Additional €1 billion intended for the construction of a new LED chip plant by 2020; • ‘Diamond’ initiative promotes growth and sustained enterprise value; • Until 2020, average annual growth rates of 8% for revenue and 9% for EBITDA expected.

Key areas of focus include shifting the focus on expanding the electronics and software expertise.

Quarkstar QuarkStar launched a range of lighting modules that are unrivalled in their size and weight, being significantly smaller than any comparable units in the industry – for example, a recessed fixture design can have an aperture of only 2cm, even narrower than the suspended ceiling system support structure. A range of asymmetric luminaires can have optical efficiencies of up to 85+% and a tested efficacy of 85+ lm/W allowing the design of wall wash applications providing illumination ratios of 3:1.

its fixtures. Its high specification products include: • High Bay XI series – based around the m4 hybrid IC (that uses a transformer step down to 30Vac). Companies in Japan that have adopted the High Bay XI AC driven include Honda, Bridgestone, JAXA driven by the high 60C ambient operating environments.

• XW LED tube – based around SOCT (Stella One Chip Technology) which is the first AC drive tube light to meet the strict Japanese 5% flicker standard. SOCT AC direct tube lights are being manufactured by Foxconn (the same company that makes Apple products) and first delivery will be to JAXA and NTT before the end of the year.

Verbatim Verbatim introduced an innovative range of dimmable Classic A E27 retrofit LED bulbs that deliver class-leading uniform omnidirectional light, without unsightly shadows or rings, using Mirageball optical technology. To ensure the lighting presents extra warmth and ambience, the Mirageball LED bulbs feature a colour temperature of 2,500K rather than the typical 2,700K of Classic A lamps.

Osram’s high efficacy LED filament engine.

Quarkstar’s novel light guide technology.

Verbatim’s Mirageball lamp.

power LED in red, green, blue and white, which can be operated at up to 2.5A (DC) to allow an output up to 30W ideal for colour mixed spot lighting.

In October, Osram launched the Soleriq L 38, the first filament LED in its product range. The long thin shape of the LED provides the basis for filament lamps which, in terms of their appearance and emission characteristics, are more than a match for their incandescent lamp predecessors.

Each Soleriq L 38 has a length of 30mm and a diameter of 1.8mm, similar to that of a conventional filament, plus an emission angle of 360°, making them perfect for use in LED lamps of all wattages. It is available in three versions with 90, 130 or 140 lm and high luminous efficacy of 150 lm/W to provide warm white light (2,500 to 4,000K) at a CRI >80.

In November, Osram also announced it will make investments of around €2 billion

SemiLED SemiLED launched its Phosphor Converted, or PC LED chip series including PC Amber, PC Green and PC Red LED chips in a 1mm x 1mm chip size. PC Amber and PC Red on InGaN based materials provide better forward voltage matching in RGBA applications, gaining efficiency and achieving higher lm/W. Greater colour stability is also achieved by the use of PC Amber and PC Red with respect to input currents and changes in junction temperatures. With increased efficiencies, PC Green LEDs offer a broader spectrum and provide a rich, beautiful colour for green coloured applications.

Xicato In May, Xicato expanded the Xicato Thin Module (XTM) and Xicato Core Array (XCA) product lines with the availability of new cores with 9mm light emitting surface (LES).

The XTM09 can support high quality beam angles of 7.7° using off-the-shelf optics, and can achieve over 44,000 candelas from a 111mm diameter optic.

In September, Xicato committed to the new IES TM-30 benchmark for colour rendering evaluation. Legacy CIE CRI has proven to be a less-than-ideal tool for evaluating colour rendering, especially for LED light sources. TM-30 was developed by the IES to more objectively and thoroughly evaluate both colour fidelity and gamut for all light sources, and to enable intuitive presentation of the data both quantitatively and graphically.

Stellasia Stellasia, a three-year old start-up from Japan, has launched a range of LED lighting systems based upon AC drive technology to offer standard ten-year warranties on

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4100K T8: Ra=82, Rf=77, Rg=100 3000K Xicato Artist Series: Ra=97, Rf=96, Rg=103 In October, Xicato dramatically expanded and enhanced its award winning Xicato Intelligent LED Module (XIM) product line from 30 to 100 SKUs, with even greater intelligence and an extended, verifiable, 50,000 hour/7 year, ‘B0’ warranty on lumen maintenance, colour maintenance, and electronics. XIM is a compact, 48VDC powered LED module capable of instant on/ off, and smooth, IEEE 1789-2015 standards compliant dimming from 100% to 1% using 1-10V, or 100% to 0.1% using DALI controls.

What the industry expects in 2015...

Torsten Schanze, General Manager, Lighting Business, Nanoco Technologies “In 2016, Nanoco expects to see a move towards the adoption of intelligent lighting to not only provide new levels of true colour quality, but full energy efficient system control. We expect to see a market pull for high quality light in new market areas due to the recent developments in Nanoco’s Cool White technology. We also see enormous opportunity to leverage lighting technology to enhance important markets such as agriculture. In the coming year, Nanoco Lighting plans to continue to drive innovation within the lighting space, enabling users to redefine light and lighting as we know it by bringing colour to life with our intelligent CFQD Quantum Dot film.”

Dr Lewis Lerman, Top Quark at QuarkStar Photonics 2016 will see the beginning of the second revolution of solid-state lighting, with the realised need to take greater advantage of the underlying solid-state nature of the LED. To quote the vision of one of our esteemed QuarkStar team members, the late Roland Haitz: “Much like the transition from the transistor to the integrated circuit in computing, the Integrated Circuit of Lighting is the next and final step in SSL design that will allow LEDs to fully realise their potential in general lighting… and so much more.”

Xicato modules now come with TM-30-15 information.

ZUMTOBEL The Zumtobel Group acquired a majority holding in UK lighting company acdc in September. The company is a supplier of high-end LED lighting solutions with a focus on the architectural façade and hospitality segments.

The key markets for acdc are currently its domestic UK market and the Middle East, along with a selective presence in other European countries and the USA. Huge growth potential exists for the acdc brand, particularly with regard to marketing the acdc product portfolio through the Zumtobel Group’s worldwide sales organisation.

Menko de Roos, CEO, Xicato Xicato was the first to commit to reporting TM-30 data on all products, and we expect to see broad acceptance and adoption of this standard in 2016 as the benefits become plain to lighting designers and specifiers.

Wireless technology is rapidly overtaking wired solutions in the creation of networks for lighting control, due to the widespread adoption of Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (also known as ‘Bluetooth Smart’ or ‘BLE’), and new Wi-Fi wireless technologies.

The year 2016 could well see the afternoon of Zigbee and the sunrise of Bluetooth and BLE as lighting control standards, when the Bluetooth SIG releases the open BLE mesh networking codes.

The gradual adoption of wireless networking will make possible another topic of heated discussion in 2015: the Internet of Lighting as part of – and in fact the ideal backbone for – the Internet of Things.

2015 predictions - how did geoff do?

• Ethernet based products will become common place through the use of WI-FI and wired Ethernet driver solution.

Partially achieved as costs are the most prohibitive drag on adoption. A few leaders that combined Ethernet with centralised power solutions have taken a lead to date.

• Security of smart lighting systems will become a high agenda item as more systems become compromised by bad actors.

Not achieved. It seems that despite the near weekly high profile hacking of systems from cars to computers, it hasn’t registered with the lighting community as yet!

• At least two major lighting companies will change hands in the range of > £250m T/O. Partly achieved with the acquisition of Juno lighting by Acuity and its other large >£100m T/O controls acquisition.

• Healthy lighting technologies such as colour tuneable and flicker free LED drivers will become a higher priority for users and specifiers.

Achieved as many companies have launched Human Centric Lighting solutions to the market.

• The major lighting companies will sell more LED products than traditional products for the first time.

Achieved as majority of incumbents sold >50% on a Qtr/Qtr basis.

GEOFF’s Predictions for 2016 • Centralised LED driver solutions will gain further acceptance on prestige installations creating the beginning of Power over Ethernet based products.

• Increased M&A activity will be seen throughout all areas of Lighting • The reality of the Internet of Things (IoT) wireless hype will begin to be recognised as installations are deployed with integrators preferring copper wire solutions supported

by RF where necessary.

• Lighting as a Service will start to accelerate offsetting drastic reductions in Average Selling Prices of LED fixtures.

Services based around Li-FI and indoor location systems will start to be adopted across many sectors.

• LED flicker will become closely monitored in systems due to further health concerns Have a great Christmas and New Year!

Geoff Archenhold is an active investor in LED driver and fixture manufacturers and a lighting energy consultant. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of mondo*arc india. g.archenhold@mondiale.co.uk

164

TECHNOLOGY / best of decoratives 2015

PICK OF THE LITTER mondo*arc india shortlists decorative lighting products that have caught our eye over the year 2015. The curation finds basis in innovation, design aesthetics and perhaps a peculiar quirk.

P LUME N

THE PLUMEN DROP HAT The Drop Hat Lamp Shade is

www.plumen.com

Design

01

a sleek metal disc that simply slides onto the Drop Cap Pendant, creating incredible reflections, adding ambience, warmth and drama to any space.

Pics: Ian Nolan Stylist: Poppy Norton

HC WD STUDI O

THE BRICK LAMP The inspiration of ‘The Brick’ stems from

www.hcwangdesign.com

Design

02

the idea of concealing and revealing light. To switch on, it must be raised on its side, and laid flat to turn off. Finished as a smooth block, it is available in three materials, aluminium, cast concrete, and solid wood.

Pics: HsinChun Wang & Ye Liu

165

THE PUMPAL LIGHT

inside the rotating wooden ‘handle’, which is set into a recycled concrete base. It’s ability to rotate 360 degrees gives the user complete control over the

Designer

incorporates LED lights concealed

E WAN C AS H MAN

for spinning top), the lamp

www.ewancashman.com

Mimicking a pumpal (Bulgarian

03

quality and direction of light that fills the space. With seamless detailing between white concrete, ash wood and plexi-glass, the form is rendered surreal.

Pic: Ewan Cashman

everywhere in nature. Intended to serve as a modern chandelier, it attempts to be the light that unifies space; its staggered structure

Designer

spiral patterns that can be found

Brand

the Fibonacci series and

Ø IVI ND SLAATTO

www.louispoulsen.com

Patera takes its inspiration from

L OUI S P OUL SE N

04

PATERA

providing stunning impressions of the light when viewed from different angles.

Pics: Erik Zappon Stylist: Lene Eriksen

166

TECHNOLOGY / best of decoratives 2015

LUC E P LAN

STOCHASTIC A cluster of glass spheres

www.luceplan.com

Brand

05

suspended at different heights with steel rods and attached to the ceiling in various creative ways, permits myriad combinations for composing the lamp. The evocative character takes on a poetic nature with Stochastic, which refers to a

Daniel Ryba k ken

Designer

random process.

Pics: Studio 9010

www.lumencenteritalia.com

L UME N CE NTER ITAL IA

Brand

06

ASTOLFO Derived from its name (“ast-ulf”, meaning rescuer spear) arises the new thin and technological lamp. A bright spear mechanically inserted in a solid wood stem, recovered from old beams and removed from ancient builds, stands full of asperities, grains

Amedeo G . C avalchini

Designer

and history.

Pic: Simona Monfrinotti

167

regulated, the beam of light can be adjusted in accordance to the elevation of the art that needs to be lit. This stunning fitting can also be

Designer

height of the fixture can be

Brand

solution to light art. While the

MAURIZ IO MAN C IN I

www.davidegroppi.com

Masai is a delicate yet powerful

D AVID E G RO P P I

07

MASAI

used to model space with light.

Pics: Fausto Mazza

bend in and out of space, moving effortlessly between simplicity and ornamentation. Round and cubic brass connectors complete the lamps’ structures and add a rich material contrast to the powder coated rods. The Beaubien is imbued with a palette of influences, from traditional Chinese screens to the Memphis movement. Each influence strengthens the collection, creating nuances within its timeless character.

Pic: Adrien Williams

Design

www.lambertetfils.com

Beaubien’s strong black lines

L A MBERT E T F ILS

08

BEAUBIEN

168

TECHNOLOGY / best of decoratives 2015

T O M D IX O N

MELT Melt is a distorted globe lit from

www.tomdixon.com

Design

09

the inside. Internal illumination allows the light to bounce and reflect around the uneven surfaces creating a dramatic melting hot blown glass effect.

Pics: Peer Lindgreen for Tom Dixon

HEAVY METAL This is the world’s first designer LED

www.busterandpunch.com

BU STER & PU NC H

Design

10

bulb, finished in crystal resin. The resin light pipe at the centre of the bulb is where all the magic happens.

It allows the bulb to create a subtle ambient light, whilst at the same time throws focused spot light onto tables and horizontal surfaces below.

Pics: Buster + Punch

169

cross pattern generating everchanging geometric motifs. With this to inspire them, Ludovica

Designer

kilts with its perpendicular criss-

Brand

characteristic of Scottish woollen

Ludovica & R ob erto Palomba

www.foscarini.com

Tartan is the unmistakable design

FO S C ARIN I

11

TARTAN

and Roberto Palomba, together with Foscarini, created a further variation on the blown glass lamp.

Image Courtsey: Foscarini

room and balances a lampshade on

Designer

A long beam cranes across the

Brand

mechanism of a beam balance.

L udovica & Roberto Palomba

www.covo.it

A Floor Lamp is based on the simple

C OV O

12

A FLOOR LAMP

one side against a sandbag on the other. The sandbag can be moved manually into four positions weighing in different lighting situations.

Pic: Courtsey Covo

event calendar

Made in India Week February 13-18, 2016 Mumbai, India www.madeinindia.com

India Design Forum February 17, 2016 Mumbai, India www.indiadesignforum.com

India Art Fair January 28-31, 2016 New Delhi, India www.indiaartfair.in

Dhaka Art Summit February 5-8, 2016 Dhaka, Bangladesh www.dhakaartsummit.org

Aldabra............................................... 29 Foscarini........................................... 175 GM Modular......................................... 7

Loco.................................................... 31 Louis Poulsen.................................... 176 Lucifer................................................. 11

Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair February 9-13, 2016 Stockholm, Sweden www.stockholmfurniturelightfair.se

Light January 27-29, 2016 Warsaw, Poland www.lightfair.pl

ADVERTISERS INDEX

ISE 2016, February 9-12, 2016 Amsterdam, Netherlands www.iseurope.org

Surface Design Show February 9-11, 2016 London, UK www.surfacedesignshow.com

Northern Light Fair February 9-13, 2016 Stockholm, Sweden www.stockholmfurniturelightfair.se

Architect@Work January 27-28, 2016 London, UK www.architect-at-work.co.uk

LEDEXPO Benelux January 27-28, 2016 Brabanthallen Den Bosch, Netherlands www.ledexpo.nl

Maison Et Objet January 22-26, 2016 Paris, France www.maison-object.com

Radiant............................................. 153 Serenity............................................. 153 Tisva..................................................... 9

LEDucation March 29-30, 2016 New York, USA www.leducation.com

Light & Building March 13-18, 2016 Frankfurt, Germany www.light-building.messefrankfurt.com

Design Shanghai March 9-12, 2016 Shanghai, China www.designshowshanghai.com

Maison Et Objet Asia March 8-11, 2016 Singapore www.maison-object.com

Ecobuild 2016 March 8-10, 2016 London, UK www.ecobuild.co.uk

Strategies in Light March 1-3, 2016 Las Vegas, USA www.strategiesinlight.com

vis a vis.............................................. 4-5 Waldman............................................ 23 Wibre................................................ 111

write to us at: mondoarc@stir.lighting

For Media Partnership

Venice Architecture Biennale May 28-November 27, 2016 Venice, Italy www.labiennale.org/en/architecture

Lightfair international April 24-25, 2016 San Diego, USA www.lightfair.com

LED Expo April 19-22, 2016 Bangkok, Thailand www.ledexpothailand.com

China Lighting Expo April 14-16, 2016 Beijing, China www.chinalightingexpo.com

Salone del Mobile April 12-17, 2016 Milan, Italy www.salonmilano.it

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SELECT

A definitive moment in a design process that exemplifies the interaction of light and space, captured in time.

Reflecting in Four Seasons Elaine Li (IG @lielaine), Hong Kong

more than lamps pure emotions Allegro, design: Atelier Oï

ad: designwork / photo: Massimo Gardone

foscarini.com

For queries contact: info@visavislights.com

NJP

Table

Design: nendo. NJP TABLE provides direct glare-free horizontal light while reflecting some of the light through the rear of the head, illuminating the top of the arm.

The ergonomic design of the fixture head shapes the light and gives optimal light direction. A simple mechanical system provides great freedom of movement, so the light can always be set in the ideal position in the workspace.

Available in black and white.

www.louispoulsen.com

VISIT US AT LIGHT + BUILDING 2016 IN FRANKFURT HALL1.2 C20